THE  UNIVERSITY 


OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


W83l 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS.  LIBRARY 
AT  URBArmWAMPAIQN 


■iii 


i 


LIFE  IN  THE 


CONFEDEEATE  AEMY 


BEINU  THE 


®beerl)atiou0  aab  (!5x}jciieivces  of  an  ^lien 
ill  the  (Sonth  iiieemg  the 


AMERICAN  CIVIL  WAE. 


BY  ^ 

WILLIAM  WATSON,  V 


NEW  YORK; 

SCRIBNER  & WELEORD. 
1888. 


z I I Cux.dL/vr>juLy^  'X-xm  ^ / 7 ^ 


f 73.  V?  2. 

M/g'3^- 

TO 

COLONEL  JOHN  SCOTT,  C.B., 


1st  Renfrew  and  Dumbarton  Artillery  Volunteer  Corps. 


Sir, 

Having  written  a brief  narrative  of  my  observations 
and  experience  in  the  Southern  States  prior  to  and  during  the 
earlier  part  of  the  American  Civil  War,  and  as  these  observa- 
tions touching  the  causes  which  led  to  the  war  were  gathered 
from  amongst  the  industrial  and  commercial  classes,  and  my 
experience  in  the  war  being  in  a volunteer  corps,  I proposed 
to  dedicate  the  simple  narrative  to  you,  as  a gentleman  who  at 
once  unites  an  extensive  connection  in  the  industrial  and 
commercial  world  with  an  active  interest  and  participation  in 
the  military  defences  of  the  country,  and  whose  services  in 
public  affairs  generally  are  well  known. 

I claim  no  merit  for  the  work  beyond  a plain,  honest,  and 
truthful  statement  of  what  I actually  saw  and  gathered 
from  the  general  tone  and  sentiment  of  persons  in  the  sphere 
in  which  I moved.  I am,  therefore,  much  gratified  in  having 
your  permission  to  dedicate  my  humble  volume  to  you. 

I am.  Sir, 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

WILLIAM  WATSON. 

Pea  Ridge,  Skelmorlie, 

17th  September,  1887, 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/lifeinconfederat00wats_1 


PREFACE. 


On  the  origin,  progress,  and  issue  of  the  American  Civil 
War  there  has,  no  doubt,  been  much  written  from  various 
sources,  and  from  different  points  of  view. 

Assuming  those  accounts  to  be  strictly  correct  and  impartial, 
still  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  in  general  descriptions  of 
events  of  historical  importance  the  subject  is  generally 
taken  in  the  abstract,  wholly  and  collectively,  and  there 
is  seldom  room  for  any  minute  analysis  of  individual  senti- 
ment, personal  views,  or  minor  incidents,  which  might  be 
interesting  if  given  in  a personal  narrative,  even  though 
that  narrative  extended  only  to  a limited  portion  of  the 
general  subject ; and  more  especially  if  the  narrator  hap- 
pened to  be  an  outsider,  having  little  or  no  direct  interest 
on  either  side,  but  became  a participant  in  the  events 
through  force  of  peculiar  circumstances. 

The  writer  resided  for  several  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  war  in  the  capital  of  one  of  the  Southern  States ; 
and,  though  his  occupation  and  station  were  more  among 
the  industrious,  non-slaveholding,  and  less  political  class, 
still,  as  all  classes  took  less  or  more  interest  in  political 


VI 


PREFACE. 


matters  and  politics  was  a general  theme  of  conversation^ 
he  had  ample  means  of  observing  the  working  of  the 
political  system. 

The  place  being  the  seat  of  Government  was  the  residence 
or  headquarters  of  the  leading  statesmen  and  politicians  and 
the  centre  of  all  political  movements. 

He  had  every  opportunity  of  observing  the  movements 
which  led  to  the  Secession  of  the  States,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  accomplished  and  carried  through. 

He  had  also  a peculiar  advantage  of  knowing  the  private 
sentiments  of  a large  body  of  the  people  when  the  Secession 
movement  began,  and  the  change  of  sentiment  which  cir- 
cumstances afterwards  actually  forced  upon  them. 

That  he  got  mixed  up  in  the  turmoil  and  came  to  take 
part  in  the  war  he  considered  unavoidable ; and  he  trusts 
the  explanation  he  has  given  in  the  course  of  the  narrative 
will  be  sufficient  excuse. 

It  may  be  a little  disappointing  to  some  that  the  nar- 
rative is  confined  to  the  early  part  of  the  war,  and  to 
events  which  took  place  in  the  West  and  Centre,  and  do 
not  extend  to  the  more  brilliant  campaigns  in  Virginia, 
and  the  more  sanguinary  struggles  in  the  later  part  of  the 
war.  But  the  writer  presumes  that  much  has  already 
been  written  from  that  field,  while  many  things  which  took 
place  in  the  West  and  Centre  were  less  noticed,  and 


PREFACE. 


VI 


sometimes  entirely  overlooked  in  the  multitude  of  more 
exciting  events  at  the  time  ; and,  as  he  does  not  aspire  to 
anything  like  a philosophic  or  historical  account,  but  simply 
relates  what  he  actually  saw  and  experienced,  he  considers, 
that  the  positions  and  places  he  happened  to  be  in  at  different 
times,  in  and  out  of  the  army,  afforded  him  more  varied  and 
better  opportunities  for  observations,  which  would  be  of  greater 
interest  in  a personal  narrative  than  if  swallowed  up  in 
the  midst  of  a large  army  in  one  place  or  in  one  continued 
campaign. 

In  giving  this  account  of  his  observations  and  experience, 
the  writer  sums  up  his  observations  from  what  he  personally 
witnessed,  and  from  the  general  feeling  and  opinions  expressed 
by  those  around  him  of  the  more  moderate  class  outside  of 
the  ring  of  fiery  politicians ; and  any  opinions  on  the  origin 
of  the  war  he  leaves  to  be  deduced  from  what  little  testimony 
he  has  given,  should  anyone  consider  that  to  be  of  any  value. 

That  the  struggle  should  have  been  so  sanguinary,  should  have 
continued  so  long  and  been  maintained  with  such  unanimity 
on  both  sides,  and  particularly  on  the  part  of  the  South,  may 
have  astonished  many.  He  has  mentioned  one  or  two  of  the 
causes  which  he  imagines  contributed  in  some  measure  to 
prolong  the  struggle. 

In  relating  his  experience,  any  incidents  he  has  tried 
to  describe  are  given  just  as  he  witnessed  them,  and  he 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


believes  and  trusts  that  many  are  still  alive,  who,  if  these 
pages  meet  their  eyes,  will  recognise  the  writer,  and  will 
remember  the  incidents  and  that  he  does  not  attempt  to 
embellish  them  in  any  way. 

The  writer  has  no  pretensions  to  literary  attainments,  and 
possesses  no  great  political  or  statistical  knowledge,  but 
endeavours  to  give  in  a plain,  blunt  way  this  short  narrative 
of  his  observations  and  experience  which  he  thinks,  even 
leaving  out  any  political  remarks,  may  be  of  interest  in 
showing  something  of  the  utility  of  the  Volunteer  system, 
and  how  a nation  may  be  strengthened  in  time  of  necessity 
and  large  and  effective  armies  raised  upon  that  system,  and 
also  in  relating  a test  of  the  experience  of  citizen  soldiers 
and  their  capabilities  in  actual  warfare. 


CONTENTS 


SECTION  I.-THE  SOUTH  BEFOEE  THE  WAE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

STATE  OF  LOUISIANA  IN  1860 — TOPOGRAPHICAL  DESCRIPTION — SOIL- 
CLIMATE  — PRODUCTIONS  — POPULATION  CLASSIFIED— INSTITUTION 
OF  SLAVERY, 19 


CHAPTER  II. 

SLAVERY  AS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  QUESTION  WHICH  LED  TO  THE  WAR,  32 

CHAPTER  III. 

POLITICS  AND  POLITICIANS  IN  1860  — HOW  THEY  MANAGED  THEIR 

BUSINESS, - - 45 


SECTION  II. -THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

BATON  ROUGE,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  LOUISIANA  IN  1860 — STATE  FAIR — 
PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  — STATE  OP  PARTIES  — NOMINATION  OF 
LINCOLN— HIS  SUPPOSED  POLITICAL  VIEWS— OBSERVATIONS  ON  HIS 
GENERAL  CHARACTER  AND  QUALIFICATIONS— SOUTHERN  OPINIONS 


OF  HIM, 


59 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  y. 

PAGE 

ELECTION  OF  LINCOLN  — SECESSION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA  — SUSPENSE 
AND  EXCITEMENT  IN  THE  SOUTH  — A PLEBISCITE  DECIDED  UPON 
— POLITICIANS  AT  WORK— CERTAIN  CAUSES  FOR  SECESSION  — A 
SPECIMEN  OF  ORATORY  — PRECEPT  AND  PRACTICE  AS  SHOWN  IN 
THE  SEQUEL, 6^ 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SECESSION  OF  ALABAMA,  FLORIDA,  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  GEORGIA — MEETING 
OF  CONGRESS  — BUCHANAN’S  MESSAGE  — INACTION  OF  CONGRESS- 
ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  RESULT  OF  THE  PLEBISCITE  IN  LOUISIANA 
— ITS  ACCURACY  QUESTIONED — DISSENT  OVERRULED  — ACT  OF 
SECESSION  PASSED— SEIZURE  OP  THE  ARSENAL— DEPARTURE  OP  THE 
UNITED  STATES’  TROOPS — DISAFFECTION  AMONG  THE  VOLUNTEERS,  74 

CHAPTER  YIL 

PREPARATIONS  TO  ORGANISE  AN  ARMY  — AFFAIRS  BECOME  SERIOUS  — 
SHAMEFUL  INACTION  OP  THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  — SECESSION 
UNOPPOSED  GAINS  STRENGTH  — THE  PEOPLE,  HAVING  NO  OTHER 
RESOURCE,  ACCEPT  THE  SITUATION— OFFICE  HUNTING— DEPRESSION 
OF  BUSINESS— AN  INTERVIEW  WITH  GOVERNOR  MOORE,-  - - 81 

CHAPTER  YIII. 

PRECAUTION  AGAINST  ENEMIES  FROM  WITHOUT — PRECAUTION  AGAINST 
DISAFFECTION  WITHIN  — RESULT  OP  THE  GENERAL  PLEBISCITE 
THROUGHOUT  THE  SOUTH  — CONVENTION  OF  THE  SIX  STATES  — 
FORMATION  OF  A CONFEDERACY — DEFIANT  ATTITUDE  OP  JEFFERSON 
DAVIS  — WARLIKE  PREPARATIONS  — ENTHUSIASM  — CARRIED  BY  A 
COUP  DE  MAIN— SURMISES  AS  TO  LINCOLN’S  POLICY  —HIS  SUPPOSED 
WISEST  POLICY  — HOPES  OF  A PEACEFUL  SEPARATION,  - - - 89 


CONTENTS. 


XI 

CHAPTER  IX. 

PAOK 

INAUGURATION  OF  LINCOLN  — HIS  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  — GENERAL 
DISAPPOINTMENT — NEWSPAPER  COMMENTS  ON  THE  ADDRESS — HIS 
WANT  OF  DECISION  OR  POLICY — APPOINTMENT  OF  MR.  SEWARD  AS 
SECRETARY  OF  STATE  — MR.  SEWARD’s  KNOWN  ATTITUDE  TOWARDS 
THE  SOUTH  — GRAVE  APPREHENSIONS  — SUPPOSED  SHUFFLING  OP 
MR.  SEWARD,  AND  ATTEMPTS  TO  PROVOKE  THE  SOUTH  INTO  WAR 
—CRITICAL  POSITION  AT  CHARLESTON, 95 

CHAPTER  X. 

A DISCUSSION  IN  A CAF^  ON  THE  SITUATION  — MODERATE  MEN  AND 

FIRE-EATERS, 104 

CHAPTER  XI. 

BOMBARDMENT  OF  FORT  SUMTER  — NOBODY  HURT  — CONSEQUENCES  OP 
THE  ACT  — CONFEDERATE  LEADERS  VAINGLORIOUS  — IMAGINARY 
VICTORY  TO  JEFFERSON  DAVIS —GREATER  VICTORY  TO  MR.  SEWARD 
— LINCOLN’S  WAR  PROCLAMATION  — THE  FEELING  IT  PRODUCED  — 
INDIGNATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  — THEY  NOW  SECEDE  IN  EARNEST,  - 112^ 

CHAPTER  XIL 

INDIGNATION  AT  LINCOLN’S  PROCLAMATION  EXTENDS  TO  OTHER  STATES 
— TEXAS  JOINS  THE  CONFEDERACY— SECESSION  OF  VIRGINIA,  NORTH 
CAROLINA,  TENNESSEE,  AND  ARKANSAS  — LINCOLN’S  MEASURES  TO 
CHECK  FURTHER  SECESSION — PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  BLOCKADE  OF 
THE  SOUTHERN  PORTS — A NEW  AND  LARGER  CONFEDERACY  FORMED 
— A CALL  FOR  VOLUNTEERS  — MY  OWN  POSITION  — REASONS  FOR 
TAKING  UP  ARMS— MEETING  AND  DECISION  OF  OUR  VOLUNTEER 
COMPANY— PREPARATIONS  AND  PITTING  OUT — DEPARTURE  FOR  NEW 
ORLEANS— MUSTERING  INTO  SERVICE, 11^- 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  III.-LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDEKATE  AMY. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

PAGE 

PERSONAL  NARRATIVE'AS  COMPARED  WITH  OFFICIAL  REPORTS—REMAEKS 

ON  THE  VOLUNTEER  SYSTEM, - - 131 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

VOLUNTEERS  IN  ACTUAL  SERVICE  — DUTIES  OF  AN  ORDERLY  SERGEANT 
—DISQUALIFICATIONS  OF  AN  ALIEN— CAMP  WALKER— FIRST  TASTES 
OF  CAMP  LIFE— ROUGHING  IT— CAMP  DUTIES  AND  REGULATIONS— 
MIXTURE  OF  SOCIETY  — ZEAL  AND  PROGRESS  IN  TRAINING  — 
INCIDENTS — ORGANISATION  OP  THE  THIRD  LOUISIANA  REGIMENT 
—MARCHING  ORDERS, 138 

CHAPTER  XY. 

DEPARTURE  PROM  NEW  ORLEANS  — REMARKS  ON  THE  QUARTER-MASTER 
AND  COMMISSARY'  DEPARTMENTS  — ARRIVAL  AT  BATON  ROUGE  — A 
PARTING  INTERVIEW  — INCIDENTS  ON  THE  PASSAGE —ARRIVAL  AT 
LITTLE  ROCK  — VIGOROUS  TRAINING  — ARRIVAL  AT  FORT  SMITH  — 
PRACTICAL  DUTIES— DEFERENCE  TO  RANK  — AMUSING  INCIDENT  — 
GENERAL  M‘CULL0CH  — REPORTS  AND  ALARMS — PREPARATIONS  TO 
TAKE  THE  FIELD, 163 

CHAPTER  XYI. 

FIRST  EXPERIENCE  IN  MARCHING — TIMES  THAT  TRIED  MKN’S  SOLES — 
INCIDENTS  OF  THE  MARCH — CAMP  WALKER  IN  ARKANSAS — ADVANCE 
INTO  MISSOURI  — DEMONSTRATIONS  OP  WELCOME  — MEETING  THE 
MISSOURI  STATE  TROOPS  — CONCENTRATION  OF  THE  FORCES  AT 
CRANE  CREEK — VICINITY  OF  THE  ENEMY  — COLONEL  M‘INT0SH  — 
SKIRMISHES  WITH  THE  ENEMY  — GENERAL  PRICE  — SCARCITY  OF 
PROVISIONS— NECESSITY  OF  FORCING  THE  FIGHTING,  - - - 181 


CONTENTS.  Kill 

CHAPTER  XYII. 

' PAGE 

A SOLEMN  MARCH  BY  NIGHT — A DESERTED  CAMP — JUDGING  THE  STRENGTH 

OF  THE  LION  FROM  THE  APPEARANCE  OF  HIS  DEN— FOLLOWING  UP 
THE  ENEMY — A TOILSOME  DAY  AND  A COMFORTLESS  NIGHT— ARRIVAL 
AT  WILSON’S  CREEK— LADY  VISITORS  TO  THE  CAMP— PREPARATIONS 
FOR  A NIGHT  ATTACK— ANOTHER  POSTPONEMENT,  - - - - 200 

CHAPTER  XYIII. 

BATTLE  OF  OAKHILL, - 213 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

SPECULATIONS  AS  TO  OUR  NEXT  MOVEMENT— DIFFERENT  OPINIONS  OF 
THE  GENERALS — AN  EASY  TIME  IN  CAMP— AWAITING  ORDERS— SOME 
REMARKS  ON  INTEMPERANCE  AND  THE  MEANS  ADOPTED  TO  PREVENT 
IT— A DELINQUENT  MEMBER  UNDER  ARREST— MARCH  SOUTHWARD 
— ARRIVAL  AT  CAMP  WALKER  — COURT  MARTIALS  AND  THEIR 
SENTENCES  — AN  ATTACK  OF  TYPHOID  FEVER  — A MYSTERIOUS 
BUILDING  USED  AS  A HOSPITAL  — NEWS  AND  PRESENTS  FROM 
HOME  — FRESH  ENTHUSIASM  — A SECOND  ADVANCE  OF  THE 
ENEMY — THE  ARMY  AGAIN  TAKES  THE  FIELD  — A VISIT  TO  AN 
INDIAN’S  FARM, 232 

CHAPTER  XX. 

CONVALESCENTS  PROCEEDING  TO  JOIN  THE  ARMY  — A PEEP  INTO  THE 
PUBLIC  SCHOOLS— A QUICK  TURN  BACK— CRITICAL  POSITION  OF  THE 
ARMY— A COURT-MARTIAL  SENTENCE  CARRIED  OUT  IN  THE  COMPANY 
—A  BETTER  POSITION— ACTING  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE— THE  REGIMENT 
ADOPTS  A PET — THE  PET  VIOLATES  THE  REGULATIONS  IN  RESPECT 
TO  HONOUR  DUE  TO  RANK  — RETREAT  OP  THE  ENEMY  — WINTER 


QUARTERS. 


254 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

PAGB 

ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  A NEW  CAMPAIGN— THE  PROGRAMME  CHANGED— 
SUDDEN  CALL  TO  ARMS— UNEXPECTED  ADVANCE  OF  THE  ENEMY- 
HEAVY  MARCHING  AND  SKIRMISHING  — THE  SITUATION  DISCUSSED 
— SUDDEN  REVERSE  — MISMANAGEMENT  SOMEWHERE  — POLITICAL 
PATRIOTS  NOT  ALWAYS  TO  BE  TRUSTED — RETREAT  BACK  TO  BOSTON 
MOUNTAIN— M‘CULL0CH  PURSUES  HIS  OLD  TACTICS— A NEW  MAJOR- 
GENERAL  APPOINTED  OVER  ALL — ALL  RETROGRADE  MOVEMENTS  TO 
BE  STOPPED— ANOTHER  ADVANCE, 271 

CHAPTER  XXIL 

BATTLE  OF  PEA  RIDGE  — DEATH  OF  M‘CULL0CH  AND  M‘INT0SH,  - - 285 

CHAPTER  XXIIL 

DISSATISFACTION  OF  THE  TROOPS  AT  THE  CONDUCT  OP  THE  CAMPAIGN 
—A  VISIT  TO  THE  ENEMY’S  CAMP— EXCHANGE  OF  PRISONERS— GROSS 
MISMANAGEMENT— CRITICAL  POSITION  AND  WRETCHED  CONDITION 
OF  THE  ARMY— PRIVATION  AND  STARVATION— A MINIATURE  MOSCOW 
RETREAT— ARRIVAL  AT  VAN  BUREN— REORGANISING  AGAIN  AT  FORT 
SMITH, 311 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

!)EPARTURE  FROM  FORT  SMITH  TO  JOIN  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CENTRE- 
ARRIVAL  AT  LITTLE  ROCK  — THE  CONSCRIPT  ACT— ARRIVAL  AT 
MEMPHIS  — NEWSPAPER  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  WAR  — ARRIVAL  AT 
CORINTH  — PREPARATION  FOR  A GREAT  BATTLE  WHICH  DID  NOT 
TAKE  PLACE  — EXPIRATION  OF  OUR  TERM  OF  SERVICE  — BATTLE 
OF  FARMINGTON, 345 


CONTENTS, 


XV 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

I AGK 

REORGANISATION  OF  THE  REGIMENT— DISPOSITION  OF  THE  FORCES  AT 
CORINTH — THE  DIFFERENT  GENERALS — FALL  OF  MEMPHIS— HARSH 
MEASURES  OF  BRAGG — THEIR  EFFECTS — DISAFFECTION  IN  THE  ARMY 
—THE  CONFEDERACY  ON  THE  VERGE  OF  COLLAPSE — RE-ESTABLISHED 
BY  THE  ACTS  OP  BUTLER  IN  NEW  ORLEANS  — STRENGTHENED  BY 
GENERAL  LEE  — CORINTH  CLOSER  INVESTED — CONSTANT  FIGHTING 
—EVACUATION  OF  CORINTH, 358 

CHAPTER  XXYL 

EVACUATION  OF  CORINTH  DISAPPROVED  OP  — BEAUREGARDE  SUPER- 
SEDED BY  BRAGG  — CAMP  AT  TUPELO  — FURTHER  EFFECTS  OF 
butler’s  POLICY  — THE  LADIES  CUT  UP  THEIR  DRESSES  TO  MAKE 
CLOTHING  FOR  THE  SOLDIERS — SINECURE  OFFICES — A GOVERNMENT 
INSPECTOR  INSPECTING  ARMS— EXPIRATION  OP  TERM  OP  SERVICE- 
DISCHARGE  OF  EXEMPTS— I LEAVE  THE  ARMY— RETURN  TO  BATON 
ROUGE— GUERILLA  WARFARE — BOMBARDMENT  OF  BATON  ROUGE  — 

HOW  SECESSION  AGITATORS  KEPT  THEIR  FAITH — DISCUSSION  WITH 
FEDERAL  SOLDIERS  ON  THE  QUESTION  OP  THE  WAR  — ARRIVAL 
AT  NEW  ORLEANS,  - - 380 


SECTION  IV. -IN  THE  SOUTH  DUEING  THE  WAE, 

I CHAPTER  XXVII. 

^ NEW  ORLEANS  UNDER  BUTLER’S  RULE  — MODE  OP  EXACTING  RANSOM 
FOR  TREASON — BATTLE  AT  BATON  ROUGE — REFUGEES  CONVERTED 
TO  UNIONISM  RECONVERTED  BY  BUTLER  — HIS  OBSEQUIOUS  FOL- 
LOWERS— SOCIALISM  AND  SERVILISM  — A COMPULSORY  INTERVIEW 
WITH  THIS  PF.RSONAGE  — HIS  PRETENDED  DEFIANCE  OP  FOREIGN 
POWERS  — INCREASED  HATRED  BETWEEN  THE  PARTIES  — DESTRUC- 


TION OP  PROPERTY  AT  BATON  ROUGE— ESCAPE  FROM  NEW  ORLEANS,  401 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 

RETUKN  TO  BATON  ROUGE  — WRETCHED  CONDITION  OF  THE  PLACE- 
OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE— RETURN  TO  THE  ARMY- 
MILITARY  CAREER  CUT  SHORT  — BATTLE  OF  CORINTH  — WOUNDED 
AND  A PRISONER  — PAROLE  AND  RETURN  TO  CIVIL  OCCUPATION — 
CONDUCT  OP  THE  NEGRO  SLAVES — LINCOLN’S  EMANCIPATION  PRO- 
CLAMATION-COMMENTS AND  CRITICISMS  UPON  ITS  OBJECT  AND 
EXTENT,  - - 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

RE-OCCUPATION  OP  BATON  ROUGE  BY  THE  FEDERAL  TROOPS  — THAT 
DISTRICT  AGAIN  IN  COMMUNICATION  WITH  NEW  ORLEANS— PRODUCE 
SENT  TO  MARKET— SEIZURES  AND  CONFISCATIONS— DEPARTURE  OF 
BUTLER  FROM  NEW  ORLEANS  — A REVIEW  OP  SOME  OP  HIS  ACTS 
IN  THAT  CITY  — HIS  FOLLOWERS  DON’t  FOLLOW  HIM  — GENERAL 
BANKS  TAKES  COMMAND— VIEW  OP  A NIGHT  ATTACK  ON  PORT 
HUDSON  BY  THE  FLEET— OVERFLOW  OP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER- 
RETURN  TO  NEW  ORLEANS, 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

FINANCIAL  MATTERS  IN  NEW  ORLEANS  — INSECURITY  OF  PROPERTY — 
DEPRECIATION  OP  THE  CURRENCY  — I TAKE  MY  LEAVE  AND  GET 
TO  SEA  — CONCLUDING  REMARKS, 


SECTION  I. 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  L 


STATE  OF  LOUISIANA  IN  1860  — TOPOGRAPHICAL  DESCRIPTION  — SOIL  — 
CLIMATE  — PRODUCTIONS  — POPULATION  CLASSIFIED  — INSTITUTION  OF 
SLAVERY. 

The  State  of  Louisiana  comprises  a part  of  that  territory 
originally  called  Florida.  It  was  settled  by  the  French  and 
sold  by  Napoleon  to  the  United  States  in  1803.  It  lies  to  the 
west  of  the  State  which  is  now  called  Florida,  and  from  which 
it  is  separated  by  parts  of  the  States  of  Alabama  and  Missis- 
sippi. It  has  sometimes  been  called  the  sugar  bowl  of  the 
United  States,  it  being  the  principal  State  in  which  sugar  is 
grown.  It  is  one  of  the  most  Southern  States  in  the  American 
Union,  and  borders  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Mississippi 
river  runs  through  it,  entering  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  one 
large  volume  at  the  Balize  and  by  several  small  estuaries,  or 
bayous  as  they  are  called,  the  most  important  of  which  are 
Bayou  La  Fourche,  which  branches  off  from  the  right  bank 
at  Donaldsonville,  about  220  miles  from  the  mouth.  Bayou 
Plaquemines  on  the  same  side  about  20  miles  further  up,  and 
the  Atchalafalia  branching  off  near  the  mouth  of  Red  river. 

These  bayous  or  small  rivers  flow  through  a rich  and  level 
country,  and  are  navigable  throughout  a considerable  part  of 
the  year. 

The  whole  of  the  land  along  the  right  or  west  bank  of  the 
river  as  far  up  as  the  State  extends,  and  to  where  the  Ohio 
river  joins  it  at  Cairo,  a distance  of  900  miles,  is  flat  alluvial 
land,  and  is  below  the  level  of  the  river  when  in  flood  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year,  and,  before  the  country  was  settled, 
was  overflowed  when  the  river  rose.  To  prevent  this  overflow, 
high  embankments  called  levees  have  been  formed  all  along  the 
banks,  which  have  to  be  kept  in  good  repair  and  strictly 
watched  when  the  river  is  high.  Sometimes  breaks  take  place 
which  cause  immense  damage. 

On  the  left,  or  east  bank,  this  low  alluvial  land  extends  only 
about  260  miles  from  its  mouth,  where  the  high  undulating 
land  begins. 


20 


LIFE  IX  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


These  flat  lands  are  nearly  level,  but  have  a slight  slope 
falling  away  from  the  river  on  either  side,  the  drainage  leading 
away  from  the  river  and  falling  into  various  creeks  and  bayous 
leading  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  lower  part  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  for  about  250  miles  from  its  mouth,  may  thus 
be  said  to  form  an  immense  aqueduct  flowing  along  the  crest 
of  a ridge. 

These  low  lands,  or  bottoms  as  they  are  called,  being 
entirely  formed  by  the  deposit  from  the  overflow  of  the  river, 
are  very  fertile  and  well  adapted  for  the  growth  of  sugar  cane  ; 
and  in  1860  all  along  the  river  as  far  as  this  low  land  extends 
on  the  east  side,  and  as  far  as  Red  river  on  the  west,  the 
sugar  plantations  extended. 

The  high  undulating  lands  produced  cotton  in  abundance, 
Indian  corn,  sweet  and  common  potatoes,  wdth  fruit,  vegetables 
and  live  stock  in  abundance ; but  the  great  staple  products  of 
the  State  were  sugar  and  cotton. 

The  State  has  also  abundance  of  fine  timber,  on  the  lowlands 
there  being  enormous  swamps  heavily  timbered  with  fine 
cypress,  while  much  of  the  high  and  poorer  lands  are  covered 
with  excellent  pitch  pine,  oak,  ash,  poplar,  and  other  timber. 

The  climate  is  hot,  though  not  more  so  than  New  York  and 
the  other  Northern  States  in  summer,  but  here  the  summer  is 
longer,  and  there  is  very  little  cold  weather.  In  winter  the 
frosts  are  slight,  and  snow  is  very  rare  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  State.  There  is  a pretty  fair  supply  of  rain,  though 
most  of  it  falls  in  July  and  August,  and  in  December  and 
J anuary. 

The  climate  is  on  the  whole  healthy,  although  in  the  swampy 
districts  there  is  a good  deal  of  chills  and  fever,’’  but  these 
are  not  of  a serious  nature. 

New  Orleans  has  the  name  of  being  a most  unhealthy  city, 
but  this  is  on  account  of  its  being  visited  sometimes  by  that 
fearful  scourge,  the  yellow  fever.  This  disease  is  not  supposed 
to  be  indigenous  to  the  place,  but  is  imported  from  the  West 
Indies  or  Mexico.  It  generally  appears  in  July  and  continues 
to  the  end  of  September,  when  the  first  slight  frost  puts  an 
end  to  the  epidemic,  but  it  also  too  often  proves  fatal  to  any 
one  afflicted  with  it  when  the  frost  appears.  Its  ravages  are 
confined  to  New  Orleans  and  the  towns  along  the  river,  and  it 
never  extends  into  the  country,  and  seldom  to  any  of  the 
towns  back  from  the  river.  It  is  only  in  occasional  years  that 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


21 


the  district  is  visited  by  this  epidemic,  which  can  be  kept  out 
by  a strict  quarantine. 

At  all  other  times  the  city  is  very  healthy  and  the  mortality 
much  less  than  might  be  supposed  from  the  low  lying  situation 
and  its  seeming  insanitary  position  and  surroundings. 

New  Orleans  is  the  great  emporium  of  the  South,  and  is 
situated  on  the  left  bank,  fronting  the  river,  about  130  miles 
from  its  mouth,  and  upon  the  lowland. 

The  streets  of  this  city  are  only  a few  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  the  drainage  is  led  to  Lake  Pontchartrain,  which 
is  a branch  or  arm  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  approaching  to 
within  six  miles  of  the  back  of  the  city,  the  land  intervening 
being  low  and  level,  the  drainage  is  elevated  and  assisted  along 
by  water-wheels,  driven  by  steam-engines. 

At  the  time  of  which  I write  (1860)  there  was  no  through 
connection  between  New  Orleans  and  the  Northern  cities  by 
railway,  and  the  whole  of  the  traffic  was  by  sea,  and  the 
Mississippi  river ; and  although  telegraph  communication  was 
established  the  mails  took  five  or  six  days  to  come  from  New 
York  by  an  inland  route,  and  the  railroads  between  the 
Atlantic  cities  and  the  Western  States,  not  yet  having  been 
fully  opened  up,  the  most  of  the  produce  of  the  latter  came 
down  the  river  by  means  of  steamers  and  flat  boats  to  New 
Orleans,  which  was  then  the  great  outlet  and  market  of  the 
South-west. 

In  regard  to  population,  the  State  of  Louisiana  had  been 
originally  settled  by  the  Spaniards  and  French,  and  up  till 
the  end  of  the  last  century,  had  been  a French  colony,  a large 
portion  of  the  population  were  consequently  of  French  extrac- 
tion, still  retaining  their  language,  manners,  and  customs,  and 
many  of  the  oldest  planters  and  merchants  were  of  French 
descent.  The  great  influx,  however,  from  the  Northern  States 
and  from  Europe  had  considerably  overtopped  this,  and  the 
population  of  New  Orleans  became  of  a mixed  character,  and 
at  this  time  might  be  said  to  represent  every  nation  in  the 
world. 

The  principal  merchants  and  planters  in  the  State  were 
descendants  of  the  old  French  families,  men  from  the  North, 
and  other  States,  with  a good  many  English,  Irish,  Scotch  and 
Germans. 

Of  the  other  portions  of  the  population  throughout  the 
State,  there  were  what  were  called  the  Arcadians,  or  small 


22 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


settlers,  something  like  the  crofters  in  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland.  These  were  of  French  extraction  and  were  located 
mostly  on  the  low  grounds  along  the  river  and  bayous. 
Interspersed  among  the  larger  planters  they  lived  in  rather 
poor  wooden  houses ; they  were  not  guilty  of  great  ambition ; 
they  lived  poorly;  they  cultivated  nothing  beyond  a little 
Indian  corn  and  vegetables,  spent  most  of  their  time  in 
hunting  and  fishing  ; their  wants  were  small  and  they  were 
regarded  as  a contented  and  inoffensive  lot,  and  were  often 
subjected  to  the  taunting  remark  that  they  lived  and  ate  the 
crawfish  which  they  caught  on  the  river  bank  and  then  died, 
and  the  crawfish  ate  them. 

Then  there  were  the  small  farmers  who  did  not  aspire  to  the 
name  of  planters.  These  were  mostly  located  on  the  higher 
lands  and  owned  tracts  of  from  10  to  160  acres,  possessing 
oxen,  cows,  pigs,  poultry,  and  other  live  stock,  and  the  never 
failing  supply  of  native  ponies  for  saddle  or  spring  cart.  Part 
of  the  land  this  class  cultivated  produced  Indian  corn,  fruit, 
and  vegetables,  and  a few  bales  of  cotton  to  meet  their 
financial  wants.  They  were  mostly  natives  of  the  State  or  of 
some  of  the  other  Southern  States.  A few  of  them  owned  one 
or  two  slaves  or  perhaps  a family  which  they  had  inherited 
from  their  forefathers,  but  the  greater  part  of  them  did  not 
own  slaves  but  worked  the  land  with  their  families  or  hired 
help. 

Of  the  mechanic  or  artisan  class,  the  greater  portion  of  them 
were  natives  of  the  Northern  States,  or  Europeans.  These, 
with  clerks  and  others  of  similar  nationality,  constituted  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  population. 

The  labouring  classes,  of  which  there  was  a large  number, 
were  located  chiefiy  in  New  Orleans  and  the  other  towns  along 
the  river,  where  they  were  extensively  employed  in  loading 
and  discharging  the  numerous  steamboats,  stowing  cotton  in 
ships,  and  employed  about  the  cotton  presses  and  other  public 
works,  and  very  largely  on  the  river  on  barges  and  steamboats. 
They  were  composed  mostly  of  Irish  and  Germans,  and  but 
few  of  them,  after  the  requisite  five  years’  residence,  had 
failed  to  pass  through  the  form  of  getting  their  naturalisation 
papers,  and  in  becoming  citizens,  thereby  obtaining  the  coveted 
privilege  of  voting. 

But  the  great  ruling  power  and  interest  was  centred  in  the 
“ peculiar  institution,”  which  was  regarded  or  had  at  least  to 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


2^ 


be  acknowledged  as  paramount  to  all  other  interests — the 
“ institution  of  slavery.’’ 

There  has  been  a great  deal  said  and  written  on  this 
“ institution  ” for  and  against  it,  though  I cannot  see  that  on 
either  side  much  has  been  said  or  written  from  a truly 
authentic  or  dispassionate  source. 

Those  who  have  written  condemnatory  of  it  have  generally 
been  actuated  by  a spirit  of  prejudice  against  those  who 
maintained  it  without  having  any  practical  or  personal 
experience,  or  observation ; but  have  based  their  criticisms  on 
testimony  sought  for  and  selected  from  prejudiced  sources. 
These  have  portrayed  shocking  outrages  and  horrible  cruelties 
which  may  have  been  mere  tales  of  tradition  or  may  have  been 
illustrative  of  something  which  actually  did  occur,  but  of 
which  the  accounts  were  generally  so  much  overdrawn  as  to 
show  too  plainly  that  they  were  intended  to  create  a sensation 
rather  than  to  set  forth  the  actual  truth. 

If  these  writers  had,  with  earnest  philanthropic  motives, 
sought  truly  authentic  information  or  taken  a temporary 
sojourn  in  a slave  State  where  they  would  have  witnessed 
personally  the  working  of  the  system,  they  could  have  produced 
irrefutable  arguments  against  slavery  of  a more  practical,  plain, 
and  reasonable  kind,  and  which,  properly  used,  could  with  the 
general  advancement  of  modern  sentiments  have  had  greater 
effect  towards  producing  a steady  and  gradual  reform,  culmin- 
ating not  only  in  its  abolition  but  also  in  obtaining  a means 
whereby  the  negro  might  have  been  provided  for  either  by 
colonisation  or  by  being  trained  in  the  habits  befitting  an 
industrious  freeman,  and  without  being  demoralised  by  a 
sudden  transition  brought  about  by  revolution. 

On  the  other  hand  those  who  wrote  or  spoke  in  favour  of 
slavery  were  equally  extravagant  in  the  opposite  direction,  and 
were  either  prejudiced  by  personal  interest  or  in  endeavouring 
to  please  a party,  by  meeting  fabulous  reports  and  extravagant 
arguments  by  reports  as  fabulous,  and  arguments  equally 
extravagant. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  any  person  of  ordinary  observation 
and  common  judgment,  residing  in  a slave  State,  without 
having  any  connection  or  interest  directly  or  indirectly  with 
slavery,  and  in  every  way  neutral  both  in  interest  or  opinion, 
but  having  every  opportunity  of  looking  on  and  dispassionately 
observing  the  system,  would  be  likely  to  give  an  unbiassed 


24 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


opinion.  There  were  plenty  of  such  men,  and  among  them 
men  of  sound  judgment  and  independent  minds,  well  qualified 
to  give  straightforward  and  unbiassed  views  on  the  subject, 
and  it  seems  strange  that  so  many  of  them  were  averse  to 
doing  so.  The  general  response  to  any  suggestion  of  this  kind 
was  that  the  subject  had  become  distasteful  and  disgusting  to 
all  calm-reasoning  and  moderate-minded  men,  and  had  already 
gone  into  the  hands  of  extremists  on  both  sides.  At  that 
time  any  production  on  the  subject  to  be  patronised  must  be 
extreme  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  Any  honest  and  truthful 
statements  or  calm  and  dispassionate  views  would  not  have 
been  sufiiciently  sensational  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  extremists 
on  either  side.  Men  of  moderate  views  had  got  satiated  and 
disgusted  with  the  subject,  and  took  little  interest  in  the 
matter,  and  refused  to  take  the  field  against  opponents  with 
neither  of  whom  any  sensible  man  could  wish  to  have  any 
controversy. 

Such  was  the  invariable  reply  that  I have  often  heard  made 
to  any  suggestion  to  the  production  of  any  such  work. 

As  one  of  the  disinterested  class  but  without  the  necessary 
qualifications,  I cannot  enter  into  the  merits  of  this  “ peculiar 
institution,”  as  it  was  then  called,  and  as  it  then  existed,  or 
attempt  any  criticism  of  it  from  a philosophical  or  sentimental 
point  of  view. 

I could  never  see  in  it  the  merits  of  a “ Divine  institution  ” 
for  the  amelioration  and  enlightenment  of  the  negro  race  as 
claimed  for  it  by  those  who  supported  it.  Neither  can  I relate 
any  of  the  horrible  cruelties  we  read  about  because  I never 
saw  any  of  them  or  heard  of  them  except  in  books  or  tracts. 
Nevertheless  I do  not  put  this  forward  as  an  argument  that 
such  things  never  took  place.  As  for  outrages  on  kindred  ties 
I knew  of  one  case  : I happened  to  see  it  tried  in  court.  A 
master  liad  under  somewhat  exceptional  circumstances  sold  a 
mother  apart  from  her  daughter,  the  latter  having  lacked  some 
two  months  of  the  prescribed  age,  which  by  the  law  of  the 
State  was  ten  or  twelve  years  (I  forget  which).  For  this  he 
was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  six  months’  imprisonment  and 
to  pay  a fine  of  one  thousand  dollars  ! This  took  place  in 
1855. 

I have  seen  plenty  of  the  “ institution,”  however,  which  has 
not  appeared  in  books,  but  which  was  in  my  mind  sufllcient 
to  warrant  some  attempt  being  made  towards  a change  as 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


25 


soon  as  possible  in  the  system  of  labour  and  in  the  abolition 
of  slavery ; I will  confine  myself,  however,  to  describing  what 
impressions  I formed  from  what  came  under  my  own  observa- 
tion and  from  my  own  simple  point  of  view  and  its  connection 
with  the  question  which  gave  rise  to  the  civil  war.  Slavery 
was  at  that  time  a remnant  still  existing  of  customs  which 
prevailed  in  former  ages,  now  happily  a thing  of  the  past,  and 
not  likely  again  to  be  a question  for  international  or  domestic 
legislation. 

I have  often  heard  it  questioned — and  I believe  it  is  open 
to  question — whether,  when  the  abolition  movement  sprung  up 
in  the  North,  it  arose  out  of  pure  sympathy  for  the  negro,  or 
whether  it  was  more  of  a political  move  for  party  purposes. 

If  it  arose  from  the  former  motives,  their  personal  regard 
and  affection  for  the  negro  were  certainly  not  always  strictly 
in  keeping  with  their  professed  sentiments. 

If  from  the  latter  motives,  it  effected  its  purpose,  though  at 
a fearful  cost. 

I believe  it  originated  from  the  former  motives,  but  the 
true  sentiments  were  confined  to  a very  limited  number.  The 
vote  of  this  sect,  however,  became  (like  the  Irish  vote)  a bid 
for  political  parties,  and  when  the  Hepublican  party  was 
originated  just  sufficient  of  the  principle  was  cautiously 
ingrafted  into  its  platform  to  secure  the  vote  of  the  abolition- 
ists without  endangering  the  support  of  the  greater  body  who 
had  no  sympathy  with  abolition. 

It  was  an  argument  of  long  standing  and  strongly  main- 
tained, not  only  in  the  South,  but  over  the  whole  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  negro  race  were  unfitted  for  any  other  position 
than  that  of  the  slave.  There  were  undoubtedly  some  who 
expressed  themselves  otherwise  and  who  were  no  doubt  sincere 
in  their  convictions,  but  I question  much  whether  even  at  the 
present  day  there  are  not  a very  large  number  who  look  upon 
the  negro  at  least  as  an  inferior  race. 

If  there  is  any  ground  for  this  opinion  I have  often  thought 
that  it  is  not  so  much  that  the  negro  is  unfitted  for  any  other 
position  than  that  of  a slave,  as  the  undoubted  fact  that  there 
is  not  in  the  whole  world  any  other  race  that  is  so  fitted 
for  the  position  as  the  negro.  I believe  that  to  take  any  other 
race  of  the  most  rude  and  savage  nature  and  place  them  under 
the  same  bondage  even  with  good  care  and  treatment,  they 
would  never  thrive,  and,  if  they  could  not  revolt  against  it, 


26 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


would  give  way  to  wretched  despondency,  pine  away,  and  die. 
The  negro  can  suit  himself  to  the  occasion,  thrive  under  it,  be 
contented  and  happy,  “ laugh  and  grow  fat,”  and,  under  certain 
circumstances,  show  some  pretensions  to  polish  and  even  an 
attempt  at  gentlemanly  manners.  All  this,  of  course,  is  of  a 
kind. 

How  different  with  the  American  Indian  who  could  not  be 
subdued,  and  whose  wrongs  so  few  have  sympathised  with.  I 
have  sometimes  in  conversation  with  the  Indians  introduced 
the  subject  of  the  negro  race  and  slavery,  and  the  invariable 
response  was — “The  Indian  has  a birthright,  which  the  negro 
has  not.  The  Indian  can  die,  the  negro  cannot  die.” 

The  Southern  master  made  the  whole  of  the  negro  his 
study.  He  studied  his  mental  and  physical  nature,  his  wants 
and  his  passions,  even  to  some  extent  to  the  humouring  of  his 
sentiments.  They  knew  what  were  his  pleasures  and  tastes, 
and  they  strove  to  turn  them  to  the  best  account.  It  was  the 
master’s  interest  that  the  slaves  should  increase  and  thrive. 
They  knew  the  negroes  were  possessed  of  human  sentiments. 
They  knew  these  sentiments  must  have  play,  and  they  endea- 
voured to  cultivate  those  sentiments  to  suit  the  slave’s  position. 
They  encouraged  and  cultivated  his  tastes  for  amusements,  of 
which  they  knew  them  to  be  fond,  songs,  music,  dancing,  balls, 
and  holidays  at  certain  times.  All  these  tended  to  gratify  and 
smooth  their  rougher  sentiments,  occupy  their  minds,  and 
absorb  their  thoughts,  and  leave  no  room  for  the  intrusion  of 
care  or  sad  reflection. 

Other  or  finer  sentiments  were  no  doubt  trampled  upon, 
but  these  were  blunted  by  long  usage,  and  the  condition 
seemed  to  be  accepted  as  a part  of  their  heritage,  and  to  this 
state  of  things  their  natures  had  become  hardened.  The  slave 
was  born  to  the  position,  he  was  educated  for  it,  he  knew  he 
could  not  make  better  of  it,  and  he  yielded  resignedly  to  it. 
The  idea  of  being  bought  and  sold  seemed  to  be  a part  of  his 
nature,  inherited  from  his  earliest  origin  in  Africa,  and  trans- 
mitted with  him  and  to  his  posterity  wherever  he  might  go. 

There  is  certainly  not  in  existence  any  other  race  of  man- 
kind that  could  so  well  have  made  the  best  of  the  unfortunate 
position,  and  the  way  in  wliich  they  seemed  to  turn  a life  of 
bondage  and  misery  from  which  they  could  not  extricate 
themselves,  into  a life  of  comparative  happiness,  showed  a 
certain  amount  of  philosophy  of  no  ordinary  kind. 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR.  27 

The  Southern  slaveowners  were  undoubtedly,  of  all  men 
who  ever  had  been  slaveowners,  the  most  humane,  kind,  and 
considerate  in  the  treatment  of  their  slaves,  and  especially  the 
real  old  Southern  families  who  had  been  settled  in  the  South 
for  generations.  If  there  were  cases  of  cruelty  or  oppression 
they  were  generally  to  be  found  among  those  who  had  come 
from  the  North  and  other  places,  with  a view  of  enriching 
themselves  in  a short  time  and  returning  to  their  native 
country,  and  then,  perhaps,  becoming  pillars  of  some  philan- 
thropic society  or  institution. 

But  the  real  old  settlers,  who  had  no  ambition  beyond 
making  their  plantation  their  home,  and  maintaining  a com- 
fortable independence,  regarded  their  slaves  as  their  families 
and  it  was  a cause  of  considerable  grief  to  a family  if  any  of 
their  negroes  became  such  bad  subjects  as  to  require  to  be 
severely  punished  or  sold.  These  planters  and  their  negroes 
were  born  together  on  the  plantation ; they  had  played  together 
in  childhood.  Surplus  sons  of  the  planter  might  branch  off  to 
follow  some  profession,  the  others  as  they  grew  up  fell  into 
their  respective  positions  of  master  and  slave  (or  negro,  as  it 
was  more  popularly  termed).  Both  were  contented,  and,  like 
many  others,  they  saw  themselves  and  their  position  in  the 
light  of  their  own  eyes  and  not  as  others  saw  them,  and  they 
did  not  understand  why  any  outsiders  should  interfere  with 
them. 

I certainly  believe  that  the  Southern  planters  in  general, 
and  particularly  the  class  I have  referred  to,  did  not  uphold 
the  institution  of  slavery  out  of  a cruel  and  heartless  design 
of  enriching  themselves.  They  were,  I believe,  sincere  in  the 
belief,  however  erroneous  that  might  be,  that  they  were  the 
benefactors  of  the  negro  in  thus  taking  charge  of  and  com- 
pelling him  to  labour  honestly,  and  to  maintain  habits  of 
morality  in  a class  which  they  considered  were  unable  to  take 
care  of  themselves,  and  who  would  if  left  to  themselves  soon 
give  way  to  indolence,  immoral  passions,  and  relapse  into 
barbarity. 

With  regard  to  the  more  speculative  class  of  slaveowners 
who  had  more  recently  settled,  most  of  them  were  from  the 
Northern  States,  a good  many  from  New  England,  the  seat  of 
the  abolition  movement,  and  I have  heard  it  naively  insin- 
uated that  some  of  them  had  come  as  abolition  agents ; but 
thinking  that  slaveowning  would  be  a better  paying  business, 


28 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


they  became  converted  to  Southern  ideas  and  thought  they 
would  try  a ‘^spec”  in  the  “peculiar  institution.’’  Of  course 
such  things  were  said  in  joke,  though  there  might  be  some 
slight  grounds  for  the  insinuation.  Be  that  as  it  may  they 
were  not  considered  the  kindest  of  masters,  though  in  general 
by  no  means  harsh  or  cruel,  still  the  negroes  did  not  like  the 
idea  of  being  sold  to  a Yankee  master. 

As  to  the  question  of  the  negro  being  an  inferior  race  that 
is  a question  for  philosophers.  By  a long  residence  in  the 
British  West  Indies  I had  ample  means  of  judging  that  the 
negro  as  a freeman  can  be  an  industrious  and  faithful  labourer 
or  servant,  a thrifty  and  respectable  member  of  society.  But  it 
is  most  rigidly  necessary  that  he  must  be  made  to  understand 

First. — That  it  is  the  destiny  and  duty  of  every  man  to  earn 
his  bread  by  honest  employment. 

Second. — That  he  is  in  a country  and  among  society  where 
this  is  a necessity  and  cannot  be  evaded. 

Third. — That  he  is  under  a law  that  will  be  strictly  enforced, 
and  which  impartially  executes  justice  betwen  man  and  man 
and  between  employer  and  employed. 

Let  such  conditions  be  fully  understood  and  enforced,  and 
no  man  need  complain  of  the  average  negro  as  an  industrious 
man  or  a member  of  society. 

But  let  the  agitating  self-styled  friend  of  humanity  stir  up 
his  passions,  set  before  him  his  great  wrongs,  his  rights  as  a 
freeman,  the  glorious  liberty  which  he,  the  agitator,  has 
obtained  for  him,  and  means  to  defend  him  against  those  who 
now  seek  to  rob  him  of  his  rights ; and  thus  feed  his  vanity 
with  a consciousness  of  his  own  importance,  no  ear  is  more  open 
to  such  seductive  flattery.  He  immediately  thinks  that  he  is 
wronged  in  having  to  work  at  all,  and  no  class  of  men  can  so 
completely  set  aside  all  reason  and  carry  their  imaginative 
ideas  to  such  an  incredible  extent. 

I am  well  aware  that  from  this  cause  chiefly  arose  all  the 
evils  which  followed  the  emancipation  in  the  British  West 
Indies  when  the  disgusting  indolence,  the  unreasonable  pre- 
tension, and  the  bearding  swagger  and  insolence  of  the  negroes 
disgusted  the  civilised  world,  took  away  much  sympathy,  and 
cast  a stigma  upon  the  name  of  the  negro  race,  which  tended 
to  degrade  the  negro  as  a freeman,  and  added  force  to  the 
belief  that  he  was  fitted  only  for  a slave,  and  to  a great  extent 
neutralised  the  generous  act  of  the  British  people  in  their  gift 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


29 


of  twenty  millions  to  emancipate  the  slave,  by  demoralising 
him  at  the  same  time. 

Thus  his  pretended  friends  were  his  greatest  enemies,  and 
did  more  injury  to  the  negro  race  than  many  years  of  slavery. 

When  we  consider  the  excesses  which  our  own  working 
population,  with  all  the  advantages  of  civilisation  and  education 
can  be  led  into  at  the  present  day  by  the  same  kind  of  agitators, 
we  may  well  excuse  the  poor  ignorant  emancipated  negro  for 
listening  to  such  flattery  half  a century  ago. 

I am  fully  aware  that  the  well-known  state  of  matters  which 
followed  the  emancipation  in  the  British  West  Indies  stood 
greatly  in  the  way  of  any  movement  towards  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  the  Southern  States ; and,  with  the  condition  of 
Jamaica  before  their  eyes,  a belief  that  such  a course  would 
be  disastrous  was  held  not  only  by  the  slaveowners  but  by  the 
population  at  large,  particularly  if  no  provision  was  made  for 
the  disposal  of  the  emancipated  negroes.  And  this  belief  wa& 
strengthened  and  resistance  to  such  a measure  was  still  more 
intensified  by  the  attitude  of  the  New  England  abolitionists 
who  preached  the  equality  of  races  and  prescribed  for  the 
Southern  people,  politically  and  socially,  perfect  equality  with 
the  negro — an  equality  which  they  themselves  did  not  accord 
to  him  in  their  own  State ; and  in  any  case,  if  there  was  any 
aversion  to  contamination,  they  knew  they  were  themselves 
beyond  the  reach  of  that  contamination  which  they  prescribed 
for  others.  There  was  no  probability  of  the  migration  of  the 
negro  to  starve  in  the  cold  climate  of  Hew  England  while  he 
could  revel  in  luxury  in  the  more  genial  regions  of  the  South. 

The  policy  of  the  Hew  England  agitator  I have  often  heard 
exemplified  by  the  general  people  of  the  South  in  this  way  : — 

‘‘Allowing  three  difierent  spheres  of  society  and  morals, 
numbers  one,  two,  and  three.  Humber  one  is  completely 
beyond  the  reach  of  contamination  with  number  three ; never- 
theless he  is  fond  of  adulation ; he  desires  to  ride  high  on  the 
philanthropic  hobby-horse ; he  conceives  the  idea  of  getting 
the  honour  of  elevating  number  three  by  amalgamating  him 
with  number  two,  so  that  the  better  position  and  higher 
standard  of  morals  so  long  striven  for,  worked  for,  and  attained 
by  number  two  may  be  taken  from  the  patient  and  industrious 
number  two  and  equally  divided  between  him  and  the  pro- 
fligate and  thriftless  number  three — and  all  this  in  order  that 
number  one  may  be  adulated  as  a philanthropist,  and  thus 


30 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


■claim  to  have  been  the  benefactor  of,  and  obtain  the  gratitude 
and  praise  of  number  three  at  the  expense  of  number  two.” 

How  far  such  an  exemplification  may  be  applicable  to  this 
or  other  similar  movements  I will  not  pretend  to  say,  but  I 
have  often  heard  such  arguments  brought  forward  by  the  non- 
slaveholding population  of  the  South,  with  most  bitter  invec- 
tives against  the  Northern  agitators,  and  I merely  mention 
them  because  I have  never  seen  them  put  publicly  forward  in 
political  arguments  or  outside  of  the  class  who  expressed  them 
— a class  which  up  to  the  time  of  the  civil  war  seems  to  have 
been  little  known  and  little  represented  in  the  world  at  large — 
I mean  the  non-slaveholding  population  of  the  South. 

I believe  that  a large  portion  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States,  both  North  and  South,  were  in  favour  of  abolishing 
slavery,  but  the  question  of  disposing  of  the  negroes  and  the 
bugbear  of  placing  the  emancipated  slaves  amongst  them,  with 
the  example  of  the  British  West  Indies  before  them,  was  the 
stumbling-block  in  the  way. 

While  under  a democratic  government  such  as  the  United 
States,  colour  would  most  likely  be  adopted  as  a material  for 
the  manufacture  of  political  capital,  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  adopt  a mild  code  of  labour  laws  such  as  had  been  adopted 
in  some  parts  of  the  British  West  Indies  some  years  after  the 
emancipation,  and  particularly  in  Trinidad,  which,  under  the 
wise  administration  of  Lord  Harris,  were  strictly  enforced, 
and  tended  compulsorily  to  elevate  the  moral  character  of  the 
negro,  taught  him  industrious  habits,  and  greatly  improved 
his  condition  in  life. 

So  great  was  the  fear  of  vagabondage  by  the  increase  of  free 
negroes  in  the  South  that  there  were  restrictions  placed  upon 
the  emancipating  of  a slave.  No  master  could  emancipate  his 
slave  without  in  some  way  providing  for  him  within  the  State 
or  sending  him  out  of  it,  and  many  slaveowners  on  dying 
bequeathed  in  their  wills  freedom  to  all  or  certain  of  their 
slaves  on  condition  that  they  emigrated  to  certain  specified 
countries.  Thus,  a number  of  years  ago,  a Mr.  Stephen 
Henderson,  a native  of  Scotland,  died  in  New  Orleans,  making 
a provision  in  his  will  that  his  slaves  should  be  set  free  and 
sent  to  Liberia. 

From  some  dispute  about  the  interpretation  of  the  will,  this 
case  was  not  decided  until  some  years  after  his  death,  by  which 
time  the  slaves  had  been  sold  to  other  masters  under  the  con- 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


31 


ditions  of  the  will  still  pending.  When  the  decision  was 
finally  given  by  the  supreme  court,  it  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
slaves  should  be  set  free  on  condition  that  they  would  emigrate 
to  Liberia.  This  was  immediately  made  known  to  the  slaves ; 
but  they  did  not  care  to  avail  themselves  of  it.  I knew  several 
of  the  slaves.  They  seemed  to  have  been  the  subject  of  good 
treatment  and  were  intelligent.  They  often  talked  to  me  on 
the  matter  of  their  old  master’s  will.  Unconditional  freedom 
would  have  been  very  acceptable  to  them,  but  before  they 
would  go  all  the  way  to  Africa  they  preferred  to  remain  with 
their  present  masters. 

There  was  said  to  have  been  many  peculiar  business  trans- 
actions between  Northern  men,  who  posed  as  abolitionists  and 
philanthropists,  and  Southern  slaveowners,  which,  if  fully 
enquired  into,  might  have  put  a very  different  face  on  some  of 
the  exciting  tales  put  before  the  world  in  the  gushing  language 
of  fanatics.  Of  these  I can  give  no  authentic  account,  but 
merely  refer  to  them  as  current  topics  among  the  people 
generally  of  the  South,  and,  whether  true  or  not,  tended 
greatly  to  disgust  the  non-slaveholding  population  and  to 
alienate  them  from  the  abolitionists  of  the  North. 


CHAPTER  II. 


SLAVERY  AS  CONNECTED  V7ITH  THE  QUESTION  WHICH  LED  TO  THE  WAR. 

How  as  regards  the  connection  of  slavery  with  the  question 
which  gave  rise  to  the  civil  war  in  America,  I doubt  much 
whether  this  has  ever  been  regarded  in  its  actual  and  true 
light. 

If  we  are  to  accept  the  theory  which  some  have  presumptu- 
ously sought  to  advance  that  the  South  was  fighting  to 
maintain  the  institution  of  slavery,  while  the  North  was 
fighting  to  abolish  it,  it  would  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  institution  must  have  been  very  generally  popular  in  the 
South  and  of  universal  benefit  to  all  classes. 

That  this  was  not  the  case  it  is  easy  to  show,  for  it  was  but 
a small  minority  of  the  people  who  derived  any  benefit  directly 
or  indirectly  from  the  institution  of  slavery. 

But  a still  more  striking  feature  is,  that  it  appeared  to  be 
maintained  by  a system  which  seemed  strangely  anomalous  in 
a country  and  among  a people  whose  chief  boast  was  their 
freedom  of  speech  and  sentiment,  while  one  word  against  this 
cherished  institution  would  subject  the  utterer  to  the  grossest 
maltreatment,  banishment,  or  perhaps  death.  These  retalia- 
tions, if  not  inflicted,  were  at  least  tolerated  and  endorsed  by 
men  w'hose  interests  were  in  no  way  benefited,  but  rather 
injured  by  slavery,  and  who  were  at  the  same  time  of  sufficient 
number  to  have  had  it  abolished  within  the  State. 

This  state  of  things  I have  heard  most  justly  and  strongly 
commented  upon,  but  never  sufficiently  accounted  for.  I 
found  it  to  have  originated  from  the  following  cause  : While 
freedom  of  speech  and  sentiment  was  the  acknowledged  law  of 
the  land,  the  abuse  of  this  privilege,  which  has  sometimes 
been  curtailed  in  other  countries  by  an  edict  from  the  sovereign, 
could  not  in  democratic  America  be  suppressed  except  by  the 
usual  resources  of  a popular  movement.  From  this  popular 
movement  arose  the  nefarious  system  of  retaliation  so  justly 
condemned. 

There  is  in  all  countries  that  pest  of  society,  the  unprincipled 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


33 


agitator,  who,  possessing  some  “ gift  of  the  gab,’^  contrives  to 
prey  upon  the  credulity  of  the  ignorant,  and,  to  accomplish  his 
own  purpose,  stirs  up  strife  and  discontentment  among  the  indus- 
trial classes,  and  to  these  demagogues  the  ignorant  negroes  of 
the  South  offered  a tempting  field ; and  had  they  been  allowed 
to  exercise  their  unscrupulous  designs  among  the  slaves,  the 
consequences  might  have  been  serious  ; and  as  by  the  statute 
nothing  could  be  done  to  suppress  the  ‘‘  freedom  of  speech,’’ 
the  people  had  no  other  way  to  prevent  disturbance  or  insur- 
rection than  to  have  recourse  to  a system  of  popular  repression, 
and  to  inflict  summary  punishment  on  the  ofienders. 

Unfortunately  the  matter  did  not  end  here.  These  agitators 
when  they  saw  before  them  what  they  dreaded  most  of  all,  the 
terrors  of  Lynch  law,  they  as  quickly  turned  round  and 
became  the  champions  and  guardians  of  slavery,  became 
loudest  in  their  denunciations  of  the  abolitionists,  and  with 
the  view  of  obtaining  the  support  and  patronage  of  the  slave- 
holders, were  always  ready  to  take  an  active  part  in  inflicting 
punishment  on  anyone  whom  they  could  accuse  of  uttering  an 
expression  against  the  interests  of  the  institution  of  slavery. 
Hence  arose  that  terrorising  system  which  became  the  curse  of 
every  community  where  slavery  existed. 

Many  arguments  had  been  raised  against  slavery  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  States  where  it  prevailed.  Many  books  had  been 
written  condemnatory  of  it  and  detailing  its  horrors,  but 
unfortunately  most  of  these  were  absurdly  exaggerated,  and 
being  more  sentimental  than  accurate  they  tended  rather  to 
strengthen  and  maintain  the  evil  than  to  pave  the  way  for  its 
abolition  by  those  who  had,  or  ought  to  have  had,  the 
immediate  power  to  deal  with  it.  These,  I may  say,  were  the 
population  in  the  States  where  it  existed. 

The  institution  of  slavery  was  recognised  and  provided  for 
in  the  original  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the 
principle  of  State  sovereignty  had  only  been  and  could  only 
be  dealt  with  by  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which  it  existed ; 
the  Federal  Congress  had  no  power  to  deal  with  it  or  legislate 
upon  it  without  first  amending  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  This  they  could  not  do  without  a majority  of  two- 
thirds  of  both  Houses,  and  this  majority  they  had  never  been 
able  to  obtain. 

The  total  number  of  States  in  the  Union  at  the  out 
break  of  the  war  was  thirty-three,  and  the  total  population 

c 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 

^bout  thirty-five  million.  The  total  number  of  States  in 
which  slavery  was  recognised  and  lawful,  was  fifteen.  In 
one  of  these — Delaware — slavery  was  very  little  practised, 
and  was  gradually  dying  out.  In  three  other  States — Mary- 
land, Kentucky,  and  Missouri — it  was  gradually  being  done 
away  with,  although  they  still  maintained  and  upheld  the 
principle.  It  may  thus  be  said  that  only  in  eleven  States  was 
slavery  in  full  power.  These  States  had  a population  of  about 
nine  millions.  Within  these  eleven  States  there  was  a total  of 
a little  over  two  hundred  thousand  of  the  population  who 
owned  slaves,  and  these  included  a large  number  who  were 
not  citizens,  and  who  had  no  voting  powers,  such  as  females 
and  unnaturalised  foreigners  of  whom  there  were  a consider- 
able number.  Though  we  may  make  every  allowance  for  their 
families  and  adherents,  and  all  others  who  might  derive  benefit, 
or  were  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  the  institution,” 
there  was  still  a large  majority  whose  interests  were  in  no 
way  promoted  but  rather  prejudiced  by  it.  These  latter  were 
also  largely  composed  of  single  men  without  families  and 
without  property,  but  who  possessed  the  voting  power,  and  the 
fighting  power,  if  necessary. 

How  in  the  face  of  this  could  an  institution  so  prejudicial  to 
so  great  a majority  of  the  population,  and  so  distasteful  to 
many,  not  only  be  so  long  maintained,  but  that  to  preserve  it 
the  people  should  withdraw  from  a union  they  had  always 
cherished  with  an  almost  sacred  reverence,  and  involve  them- 
selves in  a desperate  war,  in  which  they  knew  the  chances 
against  them  were  as  three  to  one,  would  puzzle  many  to 
answer,  and  I have  never  heard  anyone  give  what  seemed  to 
me  a proper  explanation  of  it. 

Slavery  was  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  small  farmers 
and  settlers,  because  in  raising  their  cotton  by  free  labour  they 
had  to  compete  against  the  wealthy  slaveowner  with  his  slave- 
grown  produce.  It  was  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
labouring  classes,  because  they  had  at  all  times  to  submit  to 
the  employers’  terms,  otherwise  their  places  would  be  imme- 
diately filled  by  hired  slaves. 

The  institution  was  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
various  grades  of  mechanics  and  artisans,  insomuch  that  most 
determined  efibrts  were  often  made  by  slaveowners  to  have 
the  more  intelligent  negroes  taught  trades,  which  greatly 
enhanced  their  value,  even  though  they  should  be  but  indif- 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


35 


ferent  workmen.  It  was  also  a common  practice  with  master 
tradesmen  to  purchase  likely  negro  lads,  teach  them  trades,  and 
so  make  them  (the  masters)  more  independent  of  free  work- 
men, while  planters,  having  a great  desire  to  be  independent 
of  white  or  free  skilled  labour,  would  purchase  a slave- 
mechanic,  paying  for  him  from  three  to  four  times  the  price  of 
an  ordinary  hand.  Thus  a master  mechanic  might  purchase  a 
slave  for  800  or  1000  dollars,  keep  him  four  or  five  years,  teach 
him  his  trade,  have  his  work  all  that  time,  and  then  sell  him 
for  three  or  four  thousand  dollars. 

This  was  particularly  the  case  with  such  trades  as  coopers, 
carpenters  and  bricklayers,  and  led  to  frequent  disputes  be- 
tween master  tradesmen  and  their  workmen.  Combination 
among  workmen  was  not  at  this  time  very  far  extended  but 
was  increasing,  and  some  of  the  newspapers  were  bold  enough 
to  cautiously  approach  the  subject  and  to  throw  out  mild  words 
of  warning.  In  some  of  the  larger  foundries  and  engineering 
works  a rule  had  been  established  that  no  slave  should  be 
•employed  in  any  capacity,  and,  in  others,  in  no  other  capacity 
than  that  of  a labourer. 

The  relation  between  the  planter  or  wealthy  slaveowner 
and  the  artisan  was  somewhat  sensitive.  The  slaveowner  had 
no  high  regard  for  the  artisan  and  would  have  been  very  glad 
if  he  could  have  done  without  him.  As  that  could  not  be,  and 
the  artisan  class  could  be  a powerful  factor  in  the  control  of 
public  affairs,  it  behoved  the  slaveowner  to  treat  the  artisan 
with  all  the  deference  and  respect  he  could  afibrd. 

It  might  not  be  out  of  place,  and  perhaps  not  altogether 
uninteresting,  for  me  to  relate  an  incident  and  conversation  in 
which  I took  part,  as  illustrative  of  the  kind  of  feeling  which 
existed  between  the  mechanical  or  artisan  class  and  the  wealthy 
planter  and  slaveowner,  and  the  views  of  the  latter  on  and 
their  objections  to  emancipation. 

The  following  incident  and  conversation  took  place  in  1859  : 
— Mr.  C.  was  a wealthy  sugar-planter;  his  estate  and  sugar 
manufacturing  works  were  extensive ; he  had  superior  vacuo 
apparatus  for  the  manufacture  of  a high  quality  of  sugar ; his 
large  amount  of  machinery  entailed  upon  him  the  necessity  of 
employing  skilled  engineers,  with  whom  he  seemed  to  have  had 
frequent  controversies.  There  would  no  doubt  be  faults  on 
both  sides,  but  Mr.  C.  had  the  name  of  being  somewhat  proud 
and  arrogant,  and  not  very  popular  among  the  artisan  class, 


36 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


whilst  he,  perhaps  not  without  some  reason,  had  conceived  a 
hearty  hatred  for  all  classes  of  mechanics  in  general.  He  at 
last,  however,  as  he  imagined,  got  over  his  troubles  and  was 
now  happily  independent  within  himself.  He  had  been  able 
to  purchase,  at  an  enormous  price,  a slave  who  was  not  only 
educated,  but  a thoroughly  learned  engineer,  and  a perfect 
expert  in  that  class  of  machinery.  Mr.  C.  was  now  jubilant, 
because  he  was  at  last  independent  of  these  professionals  who 
had  given  him  so  much  annoyance ; and  the  subject  of  a good 
deal  of  chaff  and  merriment  amongst  that  class  was  of  Mr.  C. 
and  his  scienced  nigger.” 

Unfortunately,  hov/ever,  in  the  very  middle  of  the  sugar- 
making season,  Mr.  C.’s  apparatus  got  out  of  order,  and  in 
such  a way  that  tons  of  sugar  were  being  lost  by  escaping  into 
the  engine  pond,  and  the  cause  of  the  disarrangement  could 
not  be  discovered.  Mr.  C.  and  his  engineer  tried  hard  to  find 
out  the  defect,  but  without  success.  As  the  loss  was  enormous, 
Mr.  C.  was  in  an  awkward  position.  He  disdained  to  apply  to 
the  regular  practising  engineers,  who,  he  now  feared,  would  turn 
the  laugh  against  him.  Eventually,  he  came  to  the  senior 
partner  of  our  firm,  and  consulted  him  as  to  getting  an  expert  to 
try  and  find  out  and  rectify  the  defect.  I was  immediately  sent 
for  as  possessing  some  knowledge  that  way.  I was  ready  to  go  at 
once,  but  having  heard  so  much  of  the  man,  I stipulated  upon 
a proper  understanding  before  I went,  which  was  that  if  I 
discovered  the  defect  and  rectified  it,  he  should  pay  me  a 
hundred  dollars.  If  I failed  to  discover  the  defect  and  rectify 
it,  I should  charge  nothing ; this  was  agreed  to. 

From  my  experience  in  such  things,  and  from  the  descrip- 
tion he  gave,  I had  a very  good  idea  of  what  would  be  the 
matter,  having  seen  and  rectified  several  similar  cases  before. 
On  my  arriving  on  the  plantation,  I found  it  to  be,  as  I 
expected,  a very  trifling  thing,  which  could  be  rectified  in  a 
few  minutes,  but  away  in  a hidden  part  of  the  apparatus.  I 
took  care  that  no  one  should  see  what  was  wrong  or  what  I 
rectified,  and  having  ordered  them  to  turn  on  steam  and  start 
the  apparatus,  everything  was  all  right  and  going  well  within 
half-an-hour. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  C.,  who  had  been  out  of  sight  for  some 
time,  came  up.  When  he  saw  everything  going  on  well  he  looked 
surprised,  but  made  no  remark.  He  examined  and  tested  again 
and  again  the  discharge  water  to  see  that  it  was  free  from  sugar. 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


37 


“ Is  all  right  now  ? ” he  asked  me.  I nodded  assent.  He 
walked  nervously  back  and  forward  for  some  time  with  a 
mingled  expression  of  satisfaction  and  disappointment,  while, 
I must  confess,  I stood  with  an  ill-concealed  look  of  triumph 
and  suppressed  merriment  which  no  doubt  slightly  irritated 
him.  Having  examined  everything  carefully  and  satisfied 
himself  that  all  was  now  right,  he  came  up  to  me  and  handing 
me  a roll  of  bank  notes,  said  in  a gruff  tone,  “ Count  and  see 
if  that  is  right.”  Having  counted  and  found  the  hundred 
dollars  all  right,  I asked  if  he  wanted  a receipt  for  it.  ‘‘Ho,” 
said  he  in  the  same  tone,  “ I always  trust  to  a man’s  honour.” 

“ You  are  very  prompt  in  your  payment,  Mr.  C.,”  said  I. 

“ Yes,  Mr.  W.,”  said  he,  in  a more  deliberate  tone,  “ because 
when  I make  a bad  bargain  I always  wish  to  get  done  with  it 
as  soon  as  possible.”  I saw  from  this  that  he  was  inclined  for 
an  argument. 

“ And  do  you  consider,”  said  I,  “ that  the  bargain  you  made 
with  me  to-day  is  a bad  bargain  ? ” 

“ Well,  if  to  pay  a man  a hundred  dollars  for  half-an-hour’s 
work  is  not  a bad  bargain  I don’t  know  what  is.” 

“ Oh  very  well,”  said  I laughing,  “ I will  give  you  back  your 
hundred  dollars  and  put  your  apparatus  as  it  was,  and  you  can 
send  your  sugar  into  the  engine  pond  as  before.” 

“ Oh  no,  stop  there,”  said  he,  “ that  is  where  you  take  the 
advantage.  It  is  the  same  story  with  all  you  mechanical  men  ; 
that  is  where  I say  you  are  unreasonable.” 

“ Oh  now,  Mr.  C.,”  said  I,  “ you  wish  to  bring  up  that  old 
vexed  question  between  planters  and  mechanics,  and  I don’t 
wish  to  enter  into  it ; so  if  you  will  order  them  to  bring  out 
my  horse  I will  start  for  home.” 

“ I shall  order  them  to  do  nothing  of  the  kind,”  said  he ; 
“ you  shall  come  over  first  and  take  your  dinner,  and  then 
after  that  you  can  go  where  you  please.” 

“ Is  your  dinner  worth  eating?”  said  I. 

“ Well,  it  is  just  what  I have  for  myself ; we  hard-working 
men  in  the  country  can’t  afford  to  live  as  high  as  you  gentle- 
men mechanics  do  in  the  city.” 

“ Mr.  W.,”  said  he  in  a more  serious  tone  as  we  walked 
towards  the  house ; “I  know  that  I don’t  get  a very  good 
name  among  the  artisan  class,  and  particularly  since  I bought 
this  man  to  take  charge  of  my  machinery.  But  you  have  no 
idea  of  the  trouble  I have  had  with  workmen,  and  I know 


38 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


that  all  white  mechanics  have  an  ill  feeling  against  planters 
who  employ  slave  mechanics.  I have  no  doubt  you  must  be 
well  aware  of  that  feeling ; but  do  you  not  think  a man  has  a 
right  to  protect  himself  ? ’’ 

Oh  for  myself  or  for  our  firm,”  replied  I,  laughing,  “it  is 
all  the  better  for  us ; we  get  the  greatest  part  of  our  work 
from  plantations  where  slave  mechanics  are  employed,  as  it  is 
there  where  the  greatest  breakage  and  damage  to  machinery 
takes  place.” 

“ But  I mean,”  said  he,  “ the  working  mechanics  who  are 
employed  on  the  plantations.” 

“ Oh  I know,”  said  I,  “ that  such  a feeling  does  exist,  not 
so  much  against  the  planters  as  against  the  master  mechanics 
in  the  cities  and  other  places.  That  feeling  is  not  very  general 
yet,  but  it  is  likely  to  increase,  as  I see  the  newspapers  have 
taken  it  up.  No  slave  mechanics  are  allowed  in  our  works.” 

“ But  what  can  they  do  ? they  can’t  help  themselves ; if  the 
artisans  can’t  find  employment  here  and  are  not  satisfied  they 
will  go  elsewhere, — everything  will  find  its  level.” 

“ That,”  said  I,  “ would  be  applicable  in  ordinary  cases  or  in 
a free  State.  But  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  mechanics  and 
artisans  of  different  kinds  are  increasing  and  getting  to""  be  a 
powerful  factor  in  the  government  of  the  State,  and  that  your 
‘ peculiar  institution  ’ is  tolerated  and  supported  by  a large 
body  of  men  who  derive  little  or  no  benefit  from  it,  and  I 
should  say  it  would  be  bad  policy  for  slaveowners  to  make  the 
‘institution’  obnoxious  to  that  class.” 

Mr.  C.  looked  steadily  at  me  for  a moment  as  if  he  would 
read  me  through. 

“ Mr.  W.,”  said  he,  “ I understand  you  were  some  time  in 
the  British  West  Indies?” 

I replied  in  the  affirmative. 

“ And  you  have  seen  the  condition  into  which  these  fine 
Islands  have  been  brought  by  emancipation,  and  would  you, 
or  any  man  in  his  senses,  desire  to  see  these  States  thrown 
into  the  same  state  of  ruin?  Would  that  benefit  the  artisan 
class  or  any  class  ? Where  would  your  trade  be  then  ? ” 

I admitted  it  would  be  disastrous,  and  that  the  question  was 
a serious  one,  and  that  the  subject  should  be  handled  with  the 
greatest  caution.  I admitted  having  seen  the  disastrous  efiects 
produced  by  the  sudden  emancipation  in  the  British  West 
Indies;  “but  this,”  I said,  “was  not  so  much  caused  by  emanci- 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


39 


pation  as  by  the  unwisdom  of  the  policy  whicli  accompanied  it 
and  followed  it.” 

Why,  how  do  you  mean  ? ” 

I mean,”  said  I,  “ that  I think  the  negro  might  have  been 
emancipated  without  being  puffed  up  and  made  to  believe  that 
he  was  a god,  and  having  his  mind  poisoned  against  his  former 
masters  and  against  anything  like  living  by  honest  labour.” 

“You  don’t  mean  to  say  that  the  British  Government  did 
that  ” 

“No,  but  agitators  were  allowed  to  do  it,  and  that  brought 
on  the  ruin  of  both  the  negro  and  the  planter.” 

“We  are  not  much  troubled  with  agitators  here,”  said  he, 
“they  have  made  attempts,  but  we  made  short  work  of  them; 
it  got  us  a bad  name,  but  it  had  to  be  done.” 

“ I have  often  heard  it  condemned,”  said  I,  “ but  I believe 
that  if  something  of  the  kind  had  been  done  with  the  agitators 
after  the  emancipation  in  the  British  West  Indies,  we  would 
have  heard  less  of  fine  colonies  ruined,  and  you  would  not  now 
have  been  so  bitter  against  any  idea  of  emancipation  in  these 
States.” 

“ Things  might  not  have  been  so  bad,”  said  he,  “ but  they 
could  never  do  much  good ; white  labourers  could  not  stand 
the  climate,  and  a negro  can  never  be  made  to  work  except  as 
a slave.” 

“ Oh,  I beg  your  pardon,”  said  I ; “ some  parts  of  the  West 
Indies  have  quite  recovered.  Would  you  be  surprised  to  learn 
that  I have  seen  in  the  British  West  Indies,  fifteen  years  after 
the  emancipation,  a planter  getting  as  good  a day’s  work  from 
a negro  for  forty  cents  as  you  get  within  ten  hours  out  of  any 
one  of  your  slaves ; and  a task  of  field  work  for  thirty  cents 
equal  to  at  least  two-thirds  of  what  you  get  from  one  of  your 
slaves  in  the  longest  day ; of  course  in  addition  to  this  they 
have  a house  and  a piece*  of  ground.” 

“ But,”  said  he,  “ the  planters  can’t  depend  on  them ; they 
don’t  work  steady.” 

“ Oh  yes,  they  are  under  compulsion ; in  the  crop  season 
they  seldom  lose  a day.  At  other  times  of  the  year  there  are 
days  and  parts  of  days  allowed  by  agreement  for  them  to  work 
their  piece  of  ground.” 

“You  astonish  me.  When,  where,  and  how  was  that  system 
carried  out  ? ” 

“ In  the  island  of  Trinidad,  some  ten  or  twelve  years  after 


40 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  emancipation,  a law  was  enacted  by  the  colonial  legisla- 
ture called  ‘ The  Master  and  Servants  Act,’  by  which  all 
labourers — unless  a special  agreement  to  the  contrary  was 
made — were  deemed  to  work  under  a contract  which  could 
not  be  broken  or  terminated  by  either  party,  without  fourteen 
days’  notice  being  given,  and  any  labourer  absenting  himself 
from  his  work  without  a just  and  reasonable  cause,  or  without 
giving  the  fourteen  days’  notice,  was  subject  to  a fine  of 
twenty-five  dollars  or  forty  days’  imprisonment,  as  a magistrate 
might  inflict.” 

“ But  why  ? What  is  that  but  slavery  ? ” 

Oh  no  ; it  was  just  a penalty  for  breach  of  contract.  The 
masters  were  subject  to  the  same  penalty  if  they  broke  the 
contract ; but  they  knew  the  law,  and  did  not  break  it.  When 
the  negro  got  to  know  the  law,  a;nd  knew  that  it  would  be 
enforced,  he  did  not  break  it  either.  But  then  the  words 
‘ absenting  himself  from  his  work  ’ embraced  a good  deal.  I 
have  known  a negro  coming  to  his  work  twenty  minutes  late, 
and  then  being  insolent  to  the  overseer  when  remonstrated 
with,  taken  before  a magistrate  and  punished  by  a fine  of  ten 
dollars  or  twenty  days’  imprisonment.” 

“ Well,  that  is  surely  rigid  ? ” 

‘‘  Yes ; but  it  came  within  the  Act,  as  absenting  himself 
from  his  work  without  a just  and  reasonable  cause.  This  had 
to  be  proved ; but  no  employer  would  prosecute,  and  no 
magistrate  would  convict  for  such  an  offence  as  this  unless  it 
was  found  to  be  an  aggravated  case  and  against  a very  bad 
subject.” 

‘‘  How  did  this  law  work  ? ” asked  Mr.  C.,  becoming  deeply 
interested. 

“ It  worked  remarkably  well.  It  enabled  the  employer  to 
carry  on  his  work  steadily  without  being  subject  to  having  his 
whole  works  stopped  or  paralyzed  by  the  whim  of  one  or  two 
refractory  malcontents  to  shew  their  importance.  On  the 
other  hand  it  protected  the  labourer  from  being  made  the 
convenience  of  the  planter  or  other  employer.  It  insured  him 
steady  employment  and  prompt  payment,  and  though  he  might 
grumble  a little  when  the  work  was  before  him,  he  rejoiced  all 
the  more  when  the  pay  day  came.  It  was  not  the  interest  of 
the  employer  to  be  too  rigid.  If  a man  wanted  to  be  away 
at  any  time  he  had  only  to  ask  leave, — it  was  seldom  refused. 
If  a labourer  was  dissatisfied  with  his  employer,  he  gave  four- 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


41 


teen  days’  notice  and  left.  If  an  employer  found  that  he  had 
a bad  character  among  his  people,  he  gave  him  fourteen  days’ 
notice  to  leave.  It  had  the  effect  of  lifting  the  negro  from 
his  demoralised  condition : it  gave  him  some  idea  of  regularity, 
law,  and  order.  It  stopped  their  wandering  about  from  place 
to  place,  caused  them  to  settle  on  one  estate,  where  they  got 
their  house  and  ground.  The  wages  now  earned  by  them 
were  more  than  doubled,  and  as  they  were  steadily  settled,  the 
products  of  their  grounds  were  realised ; and  as  they  were 
temperate  and  did  not  spend  their  money  in  drink,  a marked 
difference  took  place  in  their  dress  and  persons.  They  soon 
had  Sunday  clothes  and  went  to  church.  A marked  improve- 
ment took  place  in  their  cottages.  New  and  better  articles  of 
furniture,  and  other  personal  and  family  comforts  were  added. 
In  fact,  within  four  or  five  years  after  the  passing  of  the 
Act,  many  of  them  had  saved  sufficient  to  own  considerable 
property.” 

“ But  where  were  your  agitators  now?”  said  Mr.  C. 

“ These  agitating  ‘ friends  of  humanity  ’ had  done  all  they 
could  do.  They  had  preached  the  negro  into  degradation,  vice, 
and  misery.  They  had  got  all  out  of  them  they  could  get,  and 
they  sneaked  out  of  sight.  A wise  governor  and  legislator 
then  determined  by  the  firm  hand  of  the  law  to  save  the  colony 
and  the  ignorant  part  of  the  population  from  the  wreck  and 
degradation  into  which  these  agitators  had  thrown  them.” 

“ But,”  said  Mr.  C.,  ‘‘  that  act  could  never  have  been  passed 
if  the  legislature  had  been  elected  by  the  popular  vote  of  the 
whole  people  the  same  as  with  us.” 

“ Most  certainly  it  could  not  if  the  franchise  extended  to 
the  negroes,  Avho  would  be  led  by  agitators.” 

“ Well,  that,”  said  Mr.  C.,  ‘‘is  just  where  our  difficulty  lies. 
I believe  every  planter  and  slaveowner  in  the  United  States, 
if  he  was  promised  compensation  like  the  West  Indian  planters, 
and  a code  of  labour  laws  such  as  you  describe,  would  advocate 
emancipation  at  once.  But  that  is  impossible.  Under  our 
system  of  popular  government,  agitators  would  then  have  free 
run ; they  would  work  a greater  wreck  than  even  in  the  West 
Indies ; they  would  control  the  legislature,  and  a negro  anarchy 
of  the  worst  kind  would  be  the  result.” 

Dinner  was  now  over,  we  had  smoked  our  cigars  in  the 
verandah,  and  we  both  rose  to  go  to  our  respective  businesses. 
Mr.  C.  had  forgotten  all  about  his  bad  bargain,  and  I felt 


42 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


pleased  that  I had  had  another  opportunity  of  laying  before  an 
American  planter  the  system  of  labour  laws  as  adopted  and 
practised  in  Trinidad,  although  only  as  before  to  meet  with  the 
same  objection,  and  to  have  the  same  obstacle  pointed  out. 

And  I could  not  help  reflecting  how  often  it  happened  that 
wise  and  temperate  movements  were  so  frequently  debarred  by 
the  intemperate  ravings  of  party  demagogues  who,  while 
imagining  or  pretending  to  advocate  some  great  reform  or 
wise  measure,  managed  by  shameless  effrontery  to  gain  the 
ascendancy  and  supplant  better  counsels,  and  by  their  mad 
extremes  or  fanatical  partisanism  frustrated  wise  courses  of 
legislation. 

Tt  has  been  set  forth  that  books  and  pamphlets  condemnatory 
of  slavery  and  descriptive  of  its  horrors  were  forbidden  in  the 
South.  I do  not  know  that  there  was  any  statutory  law  or 
penalty  prohibiting  their  circulation,  or,  if  there  was,  it  was 
not  strictly  carried  out.  Plenty  of  such  literature  was  to  be 
seen,  although  it  was  mostly  held  up  to  scoff  and  ridicule. 
Indeed  many  of  these  publications  were  so  far  from  the  facts, 
and  so  silly,  sensational,  and  absurd,  that  I believe  the 
circulation  of  them  was  encouraged  rather  than  suppressed  by 
the  votaries  of  slavery. 

It  seems  to  be  a marked  characteristic  of  all  Americans  to 
have  what  may  be  called  a patriotic  veneration  for  their 
country,  amounting  in  many  to  enthusiasm.  This  was  not 
only  a love  for  the  United  States  far  above  all  other 
nations,  but  also  an  ardent  love  for  their  own  geographical 
location,  and  their  State,  its  society,  its  government  and  insti- 
tutions. This  was  particularly  marked  among  all  the  natives 
of  the  South  of  whatever  class,  and  no  matter  how  distasteful 
or  oppressive  any  of  their  own  laws  or  institutions  might  be 
upon  themselves,  or  however  desirous  they  might  be  to  have 
tliem  altered  or  repealed,  they  were  exceedingly  jealous  of  any 
encroachment  by  outsiders,  and  would  brook  no  interference 
from  the  Northern  States.  This  inherent  feeling  was  very 
strong  among  the  small  farmers  and  settlers  in  the  South,  and 
when  any  of  these  sensational  works  were  read  by  them  they 
would  regard  them  as  an  insult  to  their  beloved  South,  and 
would  probably  throw  them  in  the  fire,  with  the  exclamation 
that  they,  themselves,  were  no  friends  of  slavery,  and  did  not 
sympathise  with  the  slaveowners ; but  would  prefer  them  a 
thousand  times  to  the  lying  hypocrites  who  wrote  such  fables. 


THE  SOUTH  BEFOEE  THE  WAR. 


43. 


This  tended  to  embitter  them  against  all  abolition  sentiments, 
and  made  the  very  name  of  an  abolitionist  hateful  and  disgust 
ing  to  the  people. 

ISTevertheless,  they  had  no  great  sympathy  Avitli  the  over- 
bearing manner  of  the  slaveowner,  and  the  terrorising  system 
of  slavery — not  out  of  any  sympathy  for  the  slave ; for,  although 
they  had  no  great  hatred  for  the  negro,  yet  they  never  regarded 
him  as  the  equal  of  the  white  man,  and  considered  that  he  was 
never  intended  or  destined  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  of 
a slave,  and  they  dreaded  most  of  all  the  bearding  insolence  of 
the  negro  if  he  should  be  set  free  amongst  them.  But  they 
complained  that  legislation  should  be  almost  exclusively  for 
the  benefit  of  the  slaveholding  interest  and  restraint  put  upon 
the  freedom  of  speech.  These  people  did  not  venture  to  speak 
their  sentiments  openly  in  the  face  of  the  political  mob,  but 
in  quiet  conversations  with  those  whom  they  thought  they 
might  trust  they  would  speak  their  minds  pretty  freely  on 
what  they  regarded  as  laws  existing  entirely  for  the  benefit  of 
the  wealthy  slaveowner,  and  to  the  detriment  of  the  poorer 
non-slaveholder. 

I found  there,  as  I have  found  it  elsewhere,  that  there  is  a 
very  great  difference  between  public  opinion,  or  rather  the 
pretended  display  of  public  opinion,  extorted  or  carried  by  a 
coup  de  main  from  a body  of  men  collectively  at  a public 
meeting  or  demonstration  and  the  private  opinion  given  by 
each  individually  in  the  quiet  of  his  own  fireside. 

Political  tricksters  will,  of  course,  pretend  to  scout  this  idea 
and  say  how  should  it  be  so ; but  no  one  knows  better  than 
themselves  that  it  is  so,  and  they  as  well  know  how  to  pack  a 
meeting,  and  arrange  matters  so  as  to  make  the  apparent 
display  of  public  sentiment  show  in  the  manner  they  wish. 

Meanwhile,  the  mechanical  or  artisan  class  were  getting 
bolder  and  less  reserved  in  expressing  their  sentiments  as  they 
increased  in  numbers,  as  towns  increased  in  size,  and  as  the 
country  became  more  thickly  populated.  A year  or  two  before 
the  war,  I have  heard  it  remarked,  that  sentiments  were  now 
spoken  openly  which  a few  years  before  would  have  made  their 
authors  liable  to  a ride  on  a rail  or  a coat  of  tar  and  feathers. 

There  is  no  question  that  a feeling  of  aversion  to  slavery  was 
fast  spreading  amongst  a numerous  and  powerful  class  in  the 
South  previous  to  the  war.  Unfortunately  those  foolish  sen- 
sational books,  and  the  gross  intemperate  ravings  and  offensive 


44 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


epithets  of  Northern  fanatics  did  much  to  check  that  feeling, 
and  tended  to  create  antagonistic  sentiments  between  the 
North  and  the  non-slaveholding  population  of  the  South.  I 
am  quite  certain  that  had  not  this  ill  feeling  been  stirred  up 
between  North  and  South  slavery  would  within  a very  few 
years  have  been  confined  to  very  narrow  limits,  and  would 
soon  have  been  abolished  altogether. 

But  reforms  of  any  kind  must  emanate  from  the  people  of 
the  State,  and  through  the  State  Legislature.  To  such  an 
extent  had  the  strife  and  ill  feeling  been  stirred  up  between 
the  North  and  South  by  the  untruthful  and  slanderous  repre- 
sentations of  the  fanatics  of  the  North,  and  the  swaggering 
bullyism  of  the  fire-eaters  of  the  South,  that  any  pressure 
brought  to  bear  either  by  the  Federal  Government  at  Wash- 
ington or  by  any  party  in  the  North  would  have  been 
repudiated  and  rejected  with  scorn  and  contempt  even  by  the 
strongest  opponent  of  slavery  in  the  South. 

I may  here  state  with  some  authority  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  men  of  the  Southern  army,  who  really  fought  the  battles 
of  the  South,  did  not  fight  to  maintain  slavery,  and  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery  was  never  before  their  eyes.  So  far  as  my 
observations  went,  slavery  was  only  a minor  point  of  little  or 
no  interest  to  a large  portion  of  the  population,  and  could 
never  of  itself  have  led  to  secession  and  war.  Any  interference 
in  that  or  any  other  law  of  the  State  which  did  not  conflict 
with  the  Federal  Constitution  involved  a principle  of  much 
greater  importance,  almost  unanimously  cherished  by  the 
Southern  people,  which  was,  the  sovereign  rights  of  individual 
States  to  make  and  maintain  their  own  laws  and  institutions, 
and  it  was  upon  this  principle  alone  that  slaveholders  and 
politicians  got  the  large  body  of  the  people  to  follow  them. 

But  even  with  this  powerful  handle,  it  would  have  been 
difiicult,  and  I believe  almost  impossible,  to  have  brought  about 
■a  dissolution  of  the  Union  by  honest  means. 

To  show  how  public  sentiment  was  swayed  or  overruled  and 
tho  people  were  led  into  this  war,  it  may  be  necessary  for  me 
to  say  a few  words  on  politics  as  they  were  at  that  time,  and 
show  how  State  legislation  was  conducted,  and  how  secession 
was  efiected. 


CHAPTER  III. 


POLITICS  AND  POLITICIANS  IN  1860-~HOW  THEY  MANAGED  THEIR  BUSINESS. 

The  interest  taken  in  politics  by  the  American  people  is  well 
known,  and  requires  no  description  from  me ; but  I have  often 
imagined  that  while  the  individual  plumes  himself  in  being  a 
ruler,  the  individual  has  often,  after  all,  very  little  control  in 
the  management  of  public  affairs. 

The  boast  of  the  American  people  is  their  freedom  of  govern- 
ment, where  freedom  of  speech  and  sentiment  and  a voice  in 
the  legislation  of  their  country  is  the  acknowledged  birthright 
of  all.  Their  condemnation  of  despotic  governments,  where 
they  allege  a potentate  holds  the  people  in  subjection  by  means 
of  a standing  army,  is  often  freely  expressed.  But  I have 
often  wondered  whether  sometimes  the  American  people,  par- 
ticularly in  the  South  at  that  time,  were  not  to  a considerable 
extent  held  in  subjection  by  a standing  army,  and  that  army 
of  a most  unscrupulous,  depraved,  and  corrupt  nature — -I  mean 
the  army  of  professional  politicians  and  their  immediate  fol- 
lowers, who  called  themselves  “ the  people,”  composed  chiefly 
of  professional  gamblers,  cafe  loafers,  supported  by  street 
rowdies  and  others  of  a similar  class  who  controlled  public 
affairs.  These  assumed  the  leaderships  of  the  different  political 
parties,  formed  caucuses,  nominated  candidates,  and  controlled 
elections. 

These  political  instruments  always  took  care  to  strengthen 
their  position  by  their  loud  plaudits  of  some  popular  statesman 
or  leader  who  might  for  the  time  being  hold  sway  over  the 
minds  of  a large  body  of  the  people,  and  whom  they  sought  to 
deify,  and  to  whose  principles  they  professed  most  rigidly  to 
adhere ; and  though  it  was  necessary  for  their  occupation  that 
there  should  be  two  or  more  parties  divided  upon  minor  points, 
those  of  the  South  were  of  course  all  united  in  the  one 
Southern  doctrine  that  the  great  fundamental  principles  of 
human  rights  and  human  liberties  were  based  upon  the 
Southern  institution  of  slavery.  One  of  their  chief  objects 
was  to  agitate,  engender,  and  keep  up  an  antagonistic  feeling 


46 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


against  the  abolitionists  of  the  North.  In  this  they  were 
strongly  supported  by  the  slaveholding  planters  and  other 
pro-slavery  fire-eaters. 

In  Louisiana,  as  in  many  other  States,  the  incumbent  of 
every  public  office  in  the  State,  from  the  governor  to  the 
village  constable,  was  the  issue  of  an  election,  and,  as  the 
terms  of  holding  offices  were  limited,  elections  were  of  frequent 
occurrence. 

These  public  offices  did  not  seem  to  be  regarded  so  much  as 
actual  requirements  or  the  duties  attached  to  them  of  so  much 
importance  for  the  public  good  as  they  were  regarded  as  gifts  in 
the  hands  of  the  people  to  be  bestowed  on  such  as  they  deemed 
deserving  of  them  or  whom  they  delighted  to  honour  and  reward. 
The  capabilities  of  the  candidate  for  the  duties  of  the  office 
were  seldom  taken  into  consideration.  The  only  consideration 
was  what  claims  the  candidate  might  have,  or  be  supposed  to 
have,  for  services  rendered  to  the  State  or  to  his  party.  I 
have  known  men  holding  high  positions  who  could  not  read  or 
write  intelligibly.  Each  successful  candidate  had  in  his  turn 
the  appointment  of  his  clerks  and  subordinates,  whose  claims 
were  of  course  in  proportion  to  the  assistance  they  might  have 
given  in  promoting  his  election. 

There  were,  no  doubt,  occasional  instances  where  some  really 
deserving  person,  perhaps  some  industrious  man  with  a large 
family,  who,  having  been  disabled  or  otherwise  become  unfit 
to  support  himself  and  family,  might  get  elected  to  some 
minor  office.  Such  instances  were  generally  in  country  dis- 
tricts, where  the  political  army  did  not  thrive  so  well,  or,  if 
otherwise,  it  v’^as  more  a stroke  of  policy  intended  to  cover, 
and  did  cover,  a multitude  of  sins. 

There  were  what  were  called  the  fat  offices  in  which  the 
pickings  were  good.  To  these  the  incumbents  were  elected, 
but  for  short  periods,  and  in  which  it  was  supposed  that  they 
and  their  followers  were  to  make  hay  while  the  sun  shone,  and 
then  come  out  and  give  some  one  else  a chance,  an  opportunity 
of  which  they  seldom  failed  to  avail  themselves. 

Legislative  offices  were  not  so  directly  remunerative,  the 
pay  of  a member  of  the  State  Legislature  being  eight  dollars 
per  day  for  the  time  the  session  lasted,  which  seldom 
exceeded  sixty  days  each  year,  and  each  member  had  his 
obligations  to  fulfil  to  his  followers. 

It  was  generally  considered  an  open  secret  that  legislators 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


47 


swayed  legislation  pretty  much  to  suit  the  interests  of  them- 
selves and  their  immediate  followers.  To  effect  this  they  had 
many  facilities. 

A great  source  of  wealth  in  the  United  States  and  also  in 
the  individual  States  was  the  enormous  revenue  derived  from 
the  sale  of  public  lands. 

These  lands  were  originally  the  property  of  the  United 
States,  but  large  grants  of  land  were  made  from  the  Federal 
Government  to  the  Government  of  each  separate  State  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a fund  to  promote  various  purposes,  one 
being  public  education,  but  the  most  important  was  internal 
improvements.  These  comprised  the  making  of  roads,  bridges, 
canals,  railroads,  river  embankments,  draining  of  swamp  lands, 
etc.,  within  the  State. 

The  regulations  of  applying  these  funds  and  carrying  out 
these  works  being  of  course  under  control  and  sanction  of  the 
State  Legislature,  some  were  carried  out  under  the  direction 
of  the  State  officers  and  engineers.  But  in  the  case  of  railways 
got  up  by  a company,  I think  the  way  in  Louisiana  at  that 
time  was  for  the  promoters  to  apply  to  the  State  Legislature 
for  a bill  and  an  appropriation  to  carry  out  the  enterprise.  If 
the  bill  was  passed,  a grant  of  money  was  voted  out  of  the 
internal  improvement  fund  towards  carrying  out  the  enterprise, 
and  then  the  State  became  a shareholder  in  the  railway  to  the 
amount  of  the  grant  so  voted. 

When  any  of  these  improvements  were  carried  out  in 
districts  of  rich  productive  lands  hitherto  unsettled  and  not 
bought  up,  the  attention  of  land  purchasers  and  speculators 
was  quickly  drawn  to  it,  and  the  land  was  quickly  entered  and 
rapidly  increased  in  value. 

The  directing  of  these  internal  improvements,  the  passing  of 
bills  for  and  voting  of  grants  to  enterprises,  formed  a con- 
siderable part  of  the  State-  legislation. 

A bill  with  the  usual  grant  of  money  might  be  applied  for 
to  construct  a railway  through  a large  tract  of  public  land 
hitherto  unsettled.  The  promoters  might  be  gentlemen  who 
had  some  interest  in  land  speculation  as  well  as  railway 
enterprise,  and  it  required  a little  care  and  management  to 
pilot  the  bill  through  the  House. 

The  bill  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of  one  or  more  influential 
members  who  might  be  well  up  in  that  class  of  business,  and 
who  in  their  turn  became  a little  interested  in  its  success. 


48 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


They  adroitly  canvassed  their  fellow-members  for  their  votes 
and  influence.  As  it  involved  a grant  of  public  money,  the 
latter  of  course  declined,  asserting  that  they  saw  no  reason 
why  they  should  vote  for  the  bill.  But,  my  dear  sir,  I can 
show  you  fifty  reasons  why  you  should  vote  for  the  bill.’’  “ I 
fear  it  will  take  a hundred  reasons  to  convince  me.”  A 
hundred,  or  as  many  reasons  as  might  be  agreed  upon  would  be 
guaranteed,  a sufficient  number  of  votes  would  be  obtained, 
and  the  bill  would  be  passed. 

Simultaneous  with  the  passing  of  the  act,  large  tracts  of  the 
best  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the  proposed  railway,  amounting 
perhaps  to  several  hundred  thousand  acres,  would  be  applied 
for  by  those  in  the  combination.  This  application  did  not 
amount  to  absolute  entry  or  purchase  of  the  land,  and  left 
sufficient  opportunity  for  the  applicant  to  resile  from  the 
purchase  within  a certain  time.  It  gave  merely  a prior  claim 
preliminary  to  entry,  and  the  application  was  registered,  but 
the  applicant  was  not  called  upon  to  implement  the  entry  till 
the  books,  which  were  generally  about  six  months  behind,  were 
brought  up  to  the  date  of  the  registration.  The  applicant  was 
then  called  upon  to  complete  the  entry,  and  pay  for  the  land 
at  the  present  Government  price.  If  he  failed  in  that,  he  for- 
feited his  prior  claim,  and  the  right  to  entry  of  the  land  passed 
to  the  next  registered  applicant.  The  Government  price  was 
at  that  time  about  one  dollar  per  acre,  paid  on  entering  the 
land. 

In  the  meantime  the  combination  had  made  application  and 
secured  the  prior  claim  on  the  land,  and  could  dispose  of  it. 
As  soon  as  the  bill  was  passed,  smaller  speculators  were  ready 
to  buy  up  the  land  in  large  tracts  at  from  two  to  five  dollars 
per  acre,  and  if  the  enterprise  had  the  appearance  of  being 
speedily  carried  out  and  the  location  good,  there  was  generally 
a rush  of  settlers  seeking  to  purchase,  and  the  price  of  the  land 
would  be  run  up  to  ten  or  fifteen  dollars  per  acre  before  the 
original  combination  were  called  upon  to  pay  the  one  dollar 
per  acre  of  entry-money. 

Thus  enormous  sums  were  made  off  such  enterprises  by 
these  combinations,  which  handsomely  recouped  all  expenses 
they  had  been  put  to  in  furnishing  “ reasons  ” to  legislators 
to  induce  them  to  vote  for  the  bill.  While  this  could 
not  be  called  altogether  honest  procedure,  the  result  of  the 
whole,  if  successful,  wrought  out  considerable  good  in  the 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


49 


main — in  a railway  constructed,  a valuable  communication 
established,  a large  tract  of  country  opened  up,  cleared,  and 
settled,  the  products  of  the  State  increased,  a great  many 
benefited,  and  no  one  injured,  at  the  expense  of  a wild  tract 
of  waste  land  which  had  hitherto  lain  dormant,  unknown, 
and  profitless. 

Such  legislative  proceedings  were  not  much  inquired  into  or 
criticised,  for,  whilst  it  was  this  kind  of  legislation  that  was 
most  profitable  to  the  legislators,  it  was  also  the  kind  of  legis- 
lation that  was  most  profitable  and  useful  to  the  public. 

A considerable  portion  of  the  legislative  body  consisted  of 
lawyers.  These  had  for  their  main  object  to  provide  food  for 
their  fraternity. 

This  they  contrived  to  do  by  constantly  amending  acts, 
inserting  new  clauses  in  acts,  and  passing  new  acts  without 
repealing  the  old  ones,  and  as  there  was  a new  legislature  every 
two  years,  much  confusion  was  the  result ; every  act  seemed  to 
be  counteracted  by  another  act,  no  man  could  tell  what  was  the 
law,  and  every  lawyer  could  find  a law  to  suit  his  notion  and 
neither  counsel  nor  judge  could  unravel  the  tangled  web. 

I have  heard  it  said  that  such  places  as  Louisiana,  Arkansas, 
and  Texas,  were  lawless  places.  No  term  could  be  more  inap- 
propriate or  absurd.  They  were  the  very  reverse  of  lawless, 
they  had  too  much  law.  They  were  completely  surfeited  by 
overdoses  of  legislation.  If  a law  existed  to  hang  a man  for 
murder,  it  seemed  quite  easy  to  find  another  which  would  get 
him  ofi*.  Hence  the  necessity  of  having  sometimes  to  resort  to 
Lynch  law,  which  was  perhaps  the  only  law  that  some  of  the 
most  hardened  ruffians  stood  in  dread  of.  Another  reason  why 
law  was  so  often  set  aside  was  because  it  was  beyond  the  means 
of  most  men.  The  swarms  of  lawyers  fostered  by  the  lawyer- 
legislators  so  hedged  round  about  and  levied  toll  at  the  gate 
of  the  temple  of  justice  as  to  make  it  unapproachable. 

The  carrying  of  weapons  and  the  frequent  resort  to  the 
bowie  knife  or  revolver  has  been  much  commented  upon,  but  I 
believe  much  of  the  practice  of  carrying  arms  arose  from  the 
impossibility  of  obtaining  justice  or  redress  by  legal  means. 
It  no  doubt  seemed  to  many  at  that  time,  as  it  may  seem  to 
many  at  the  present  time,  somewhat  unreasonable  that  the 
temple  of  justice,  established  and  supported  by  the  nation  to 
maintain  order  and  equity  between  man  and  man,  to  which 
men  should  have  recourse  for  the  peaceful  settlement  of 

D 


50 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


unavoidable  disputes,  should  have  become  a thing  to  be 
shunned  and  abhorred  as  uncertain  in  its  issues  and  certain 
only  in  its  exorbitant  expenses  and  exactions  upon  both  just 
and  unjust. 

It  seemed  in  civil  actions  an  absurd  thing  that  a dispute 
about  100  dollars  could  not  be  settled  without  an  expenditure 
of  300  dollars,  and  then  the  issue  often  left  open  to  question. 

In  criminal  cases  it  unfortunately  happened  that  the  rowdy 
element  had  too  often  a sway  over  the  judge’s  election,  and 
his  decision  was  oftener  influenced  by  the  so-called  popular 
feeling  than  by  the  enforcement  of  the  law. 

This  state  of  things  tended  to  bring  law',  or  rather  the  ad- 
ministration of  law,  into  contempt,  and  men  were  in  a manner 
compelled  to  take  law  into  their  own  hands.  This,  however, 
like  other  remedies,  can  be  carried  to  excess. 

To  account  for  this  state  of  matters  it  may  be  necessary  to 
take  a glance  at  the  class  who  ruled  the  political  system  and 
how  they  managed  their  business. 

These  professional  politicians,  though  nominally  of  some 
profession  or  business,  seldom  attended  to  anything  but  politics, 
unless  it  might  be  gambling,  which  was  recognised  among 
themselves  as  a legitimate  and  honourable  profession.  Many 
of  them  were  ojfice-holders,  ex-office-holders,  or  office-seekers. 
The  leaders  among  them  were  to  outward  appearance  by  no 
means  of  a depraved  or  degraded  class.  They  were  well 
dressed,  affable  in  their  manner,  and  somewhat  courteous. 
They  frequented  largely  the  cafes,  billiard  rooms,  or  other 
public  places.  They  were  ever  ready  to  shake  hands  and  treat 
about  election  times,  or  introduce  a country  rustic  or  a working 
mechanic  to  his  excellency  the  governor  or  to  an  honourable 
member  of  the  legislature  or  other  high  functionary,  and,  as 
they  were  always  strong  canvassers  for  the  candidate  of  their 
party,  they  strove  to  be  bland  and  agreeable. 

Their  power  in  the  political  world  lay  not  so  much  in  their 
influence  over  elections  as  in  their  entire  control  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  candidates,  which  they  managed  something  after  this 
fashion  : — On  the  time  approaching  for  an  election  the  matter 
was  talked  over  among  themselves,  each  “ party  ” respectively, 
as  to  whose  turn  it  was  to  share  the  spoils. 

Some  little  regard  is  given  to  outward  appearance,  oratorical 
powers,  notoriety,  and  political  standing  of  the  candidate,  and 
how  he  would  be  likely  to  take.  Thus : D.  might  have  the 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR, 


51 


highest  claim,  but  he  might  lack  oratorical  powers,  or  his 
character  might  be  too  notorious  to  bring  him  forward  as  a 
candidate,  and  he  might  be  defeated  by  the  candidate  of  the 
rival  party.  Therefore,  C.  is  agreed  upon,  with  the  under- 
standing that  if  elected  he  will  share  the  emoluments  with 
D.,  who  will  assist  him  in  his  duties  and  in  carrying  out  his 
arrangements.  In  like  manner  F.,  H.,  and  J.  are  agreed  upon 
for  the  other  different  offices. 

A meeting  must  now  be  called  to  give  effect  to  this,  and  the 
arrangements  are  made.  Ten,  twenty,  or  as  many  of  them- 
selves as  possible  will  be  forward  early  and  take  their  seats 
close  to  the  speaker’s  chair ; fifty  or  sixty  or  more  of  their 
followers  of  the  rougher  or  lower  classes  will  be  drummed  up 
and  got  ready  for  the  occasion.  These  will  be  placed  where 
they  can  show  or  act  to  the  best  advantage,  and  the  order  of 
business  is  arranged.  One  or  two  members  of  the  press,  also 
of  the  clique  and  well  paid  for  it,  will  be  present  and  report  as 
directed. 

Next  is  seen  posters  on  the  street  corners  and  fences 
announcing  that  a meeting  of  all  true  Democrats  will  be  held 
in  the  court-house  on  night  at  p.m.  for  the 

purpose  of  nominating  candidates  for  the  offices  of,  etc.  These 
posters,  dated  a week  previous,  will  be  posted  perhaps  a few 
hours  before  the  hour  appointed  for  the  meeting. 

The  meeting  takes  place,  few  people  know  anything  about 
it,  and  make  little  inquiry  about  it;  it  is  filled  up  as  arranged. 
Brown  moves  that  Jones  takes  the  chair.  Jones  is  therefore 
unanimously  appointed  chairman,  he  appoints  Smith  secretary. 
C.’s  nomination  is  now  moved  by  Brown,  seconded  by  Green, 
and  ayed  by  the  sixty  followers.  F.,  H.,  and  J.,  are  nominated, 
seconded,  and  ayed  in  the  same  way,  and  the  voice  of  the 
people  has  been  heard. 

No  time  is  lost  making  speeches  at  these  meetings.  The 
whole  thing  is  over  in  half-an-hour,  and  all  now  flock  to  the 
cafes  to  have  a drink  at  the  expense  of  the  nominees.  Three 
cheers  are  given  for  the  candidates — another  and  another 
learns  the  news — another  and  another  drink — and  the  enthu- 
siasm seems  to  arise  spontaneously. 

Next  morning  the  party  journals  publish  in  glowing  details, 
in  a column  headed  by  large  type,  ‘‘  Great  Meeting  of  the 
Democratic  Convention  ! Nomination  of  Candidates  ! ” Then 
follows  an  eulogy  on  each  of  the  candidates,  and  their  high 


52 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


qualifications  for  the  office,  as  compared  to  any  candidate  which 
has  been  or  may  be  brought  forward  by  the  opposite  party. 

About  the  same  time,  perhaps  the  same  day  (as  there  is  no 
danger  of  any  hostile  feeling  between  the  parties)  the  other 
party  would  have  their  meeting  carried  through  in  precisely 
the  same  way,  and  heralded  through  the  streets  and  cafes,  and 
endorsed  by  the  journals  of  their  party,  and  from  this  timo 
till  the  election  the  names  of  the  candidates  stand  at  the  head 
of  the  leading  columns  of  the  journals  of  the  respective  parties 
as  the  nominees  of  the  party  convention. 

In  all  of  these  proceedings  the  real  or  actual  public  had 
little  or  no  hand  or  cognisance  whatever,  until  the  names 
appeared  in  the  newspapers,  and  then  they  had  the  glorious 
privilege  of  voting  for  the  candidate  of  which  party  they 
preferred. 

It  must  not  be  for  a moment  supposed  that  this  corrupt 
system  arose  and  existed  through  the  ignorance  of  the  masses,, 
or  from  their  lack  of  interest  or  indifference.  They  were  a 
quick,  intelligent  people,  took  great  interest  in  politics,  seldom 
neglected  to  vote  at  elections,  were  constant  readers  of  the 
newspapers,  and  were  often  quite  alive  to  the  unworthiness  of 
the  candidate  which  they  had  to  vote  for.  But  they  were  so 
infatuated  with  their  own  national  system,  which  they  con- 
sidered to  be  superior  to  anything  else  in  the  world,  that  they 
could  not  entertain  the  idea  of  any  fault  or  defect,  direct  or 
indirect.  When  this  state  of  things  was  clearly  shown  them 
they  would  allow  there  was  something  wrong,  but  this  they 
regarded  as  the  fault  of  the  hour,  not  of  the  system,  which 
must  and  would  be  put  all  right  by  and  bye,  by  the  people 
taking  the  matter  into  their  own  hands  and  putting  down 
these  rascals  who  were  controlling  nominations  and  elections, 
and  corrupting  politics  and  legislation.  While  this  impracti- 
cable remedy  was  advocated  by  every  one  it  was  carried  out 
by  no  one.  What  was  everybody’s  business  was  nobody’s 
business,  and  no  one  took  the  initiative.  At  the  same  time, 
what  was  everybody’s  property  was  nobody’s  property  and 
became  the  prey  of  the  vilest  scum. 

Meanwhile  none  were  louder  in  denouncing  this  political 
corruption  than  the  very  candidates  who  had  been  nominated 
through  its  agency.  They  had  now  taken  the  stump  in  full 
voice.  The  candidates  of  each  party  against  their  respective 
opponents  nightly  declaimed  from  platforms  in  the  open  air, 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


53 


each  avowing  themselves  to  be  the  representatives  of  no  clique, 
caucus,  or  faction,  but  that  of  the  people — the  actual  and 
genuine  people,  the  working,  producing  class,  the  backbone 
and  sinew  of  the  nation.  They  promised,  if  elected,  great 
reforms,  by  putting  down  these  hole-and-corner  cliques  and 
caucuses  that  usurped  the  name  of  the  people.  They  would 
put  legislation  more  directly  into  the  hands  of  the  people,  and 
purify  the  ballot  box.  This  latter  phrase  had  at  that  time 
been  remembered  from  earliest  recollection  by  the  oldest 
inhabitant  as  a parrot  cry  at  elections,  and  I presume  con- 
tinues down  to  the  present  day  without  much  affecting  the 
purity  of  the  box. 

These  harangues  went  on  almost  every  night  by  the  candi- 
dates or  their  supporters,  and  as  the  weather  was  fine,  people 
were  out  walking,  and  stopped  to  listen;  and  as  there  was  no 
lack  of  eloquence,  and  the  orators  well  knew  what  key  to 
touch,  many  who  had  before  known  and  detested  them,  came 
away  allowing  that  ‘‘  there  was  at  least  a good  deal  of  truth 
in  what  they  said.” 

And  so  matters  went  on.  People  who  had  work  or  business 
to  attend  to  did  not  interest  themselves  much  in  corruption  in 
politics.  It  did  not  directly  afiect  them.  They  felt  taxation 
but  little.  The  country  was  rich,  and  teeming  with  resources, 
and  there  was  plenty  for  everybody.  The  people  were  fond  of 
politics — liked  to  talk  of  them.  “ Corruption  ” gave  them 
something  to  talk  about.  Elections  were  an  amusement; 
they  liked  to  attend  them,  and  to  talk  of  the  chances  of  the 
respective  candidates,  of  the  number  of  votes  they  would  get. 
Bet  on  them,  odds  or  even,  two,  three,  or  five  to  one  on  so  and 
so,  just  as  a man  would  talk  about  or  bet  on  a cock-fight  or 
horse-race. 

The  people  were  proud  of  their  government — their  political 
system — laws  and  institutions  which  they  maintained  to  be 
the  best  in  the  world,  and  believed  this  none  might  gainsay. 

These  office-holders,  let  them  be  what  they  might,  when  in 
office  were  always  exceedingly  courteous,  civil,  and  obliging  to 
all,  and  showed  none  of  that  gruff*  incivility  which  is  too  often 
met  with  among  such  functionaries  in  Great  Britain. 

But  still,  looking  at  the  matter  in  the  theoretical  light  which 
sets  forth  that  the  nation  is  ruled  by  the  voice  and  choice  of 
the  people,  it  does  seem  ludicrous  when  you  come  to  look  at 
how  the  matter  is  carried  out  in  practice. 


54 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


As  all  this  is  more  observable  to  an  outsider,  I may  give  as 
an  illustration  the  substance  of  a sort  of  bantering  conversa- 
tion which  once  took  place  in  my  hearing. 

Two  Scotchmen,  both  employed  or  connected  with  an 
engineering  establishment,  whom  we  shall  call  Mr.  B.  and  Mr* 
W.  B.  had  recently  become  naturalised,  and  had  thus  become 
a citizen  of  the  United  States.  W.  had  not  been  naturalised, 
and  was  an  alien. 

The  early  breakfast  was  over,  and  it  was  the  time  of  going 
to  work  for  the  day  when  the  following  conversation  took 
place : — 

JF, — So  you  are  not  going  down  to  the  works  to-day,  B.  ? 

jB. — (Jocularly)  No,  sir;  I am  to-day  going  to  exercise  that 
great  and  glorious  privilege,  the  birthright  of  every  American 
citizen.  You  see,  W.,  if  you  had  taken  my  advice  and  got 
naturalised  like  me,  you  might  to-day  have  been  exercising  the 
same  privilege. 

}F, — Some  men  will  be  thrown  idle  and  lose  their  day,  and 
the  work  will  be  kept  back  by  your  not  being  there. 

A. — CanT  help  that,  duties  as  a citizen  must  be  attended  to. 

IF, — So  much  for  citizenship.  The  election  to-day  is  for  a 
town  constable  for  one  year,  the  emoluments  about  five 
hundred  dollars,  while  the  expense  and  loss  caused  by  the 
election  to  you  and  me  and  others  will  amount  to  four  times 
that  sum. 

A. — That  is  very  true,  but  then  it  is  the  principle  that  I 
look  to. 

fF. — Principle  forsooth  ! you  have  in  what  you  call  your 
great  privilege  to-day  your  choice  to  vote  for  one  of  two  men, 
N.  or  C. ; do  you  think  either  of  those  men  is  a fit  and  proper 
man  to  fill  the  office,  or  would  be  your  choice  ? 

A. — Certainly  not,  I allow  that  neither  of  these  men  is  a fit 
or  proper  man  for  the  office. 

iF. — Further,  do  you  think  if  you  was  to  search  the  town 
and  country  through  you  could  find  two  bigger  rascals  ? 

jB. — That  may  be,  but  they  are  the  nominees  of  the  party. 

— Why  were  they  nominated  ? Who  nominated  them  ? 

B — Oh,  that  I don't  know.  The  party  nominated  them. 
It  is  the  fault  of  those  who  so  nominated  them,  but  that  don't 
afiect  the  principle. 

W. — Why  did  you  not  object  to  their  nomination,  or  had 
you  a voice  at  all  in  the  nomination  ? 


THE  SOUTH  BEFORE  THE  WAR. 


55 


B. — I never  knew  when  or  how  they  were  nominated.  I 
see  what  you  are  driving  at.  That  is  an  evil,  no  doubt,  but  it 
is  the  fault  of  the  people  that  don’t  attend  better  to  these 
things. 

W. — Then  why  is  it  never  attended  to  ? I suppose  you  are 
satisfied  to  be  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea  so  long  as 
you  have  the  glorious  privilege  of  choosing  which  you  would 
prefer,  but  you  must  vote  for  the  one  or  the  other. 

B. — Oh  no,  don’t  go  so  far  as  that.  I don’t  need  to  vote 
for  either  unless  I like. 

W. — Well,  be  thankful  for  that  alternative,  it  is  certainly 
the  best  of  the  three,  so  I think  you  should  consult  your  own 
interest  and  those  of  your  fellow-workmen  and  go  down  to  the 
works,  and  not  be  a party  to  putting  either  of  such  men  into 
office,  but  let  them  fight  dog,  fight  devil  at  the  election. 

B. — Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I would  much  rather  go  to 
work  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  it,  but  I promised  H.  C. 
that  I would  vote  for  C.,  and  I do  not  like  to  break  my  word. 

W. — No,  you  Avere  bored  night  and  day  until  you  promised, 
and  of  course  you  would  get  into  the  black  books  with  your 
party  if  you  kept  away.  So  much  for  your  liberties  and  glori- 
ous privileges.  I thank  my  stars  I am  not  a citizen. 


.1 


Js 


\ 


% 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


CHAPTER  lY. 


BATON  ROUGE,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  LOUISIANA  IN  1860 — STATE  FAIR — PRESI- 
DENTIAL ELECTION — STATE  OF  PARTIES — NOMINATION  OF  LINCOLN — 
HIS  SUPPOSED  POLITICAL  VIEWS— OBSERVATIONS  ON  HIS  GENERAL 
CHARACTER  AND  QUALIFICATIONS— SOUTHERN  OPINIONS  OF  HIM. 

On  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river,  about  130  miles 
above  New  Orleans,  is  the  city  of  Baton  Rouge.  This  place 
is  finely  situated  on  the  first  point  of  high  land  which  meets 
the  eye  on  ascending  the  Mississippi.  It  stands  on  a pleasant 
elevation  and  is  (or  was  at  that  time)  a dry,  clean  town,  and  a 
somewhat  pleasant  place  to  live  in. 

The  place  was  in  1860  the  capital  or  seat  of  Government  of 
the  State  of  Louisiana.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  city  was 
situated  the  Capitol,  or  House  of  Parliament,  or  State 
Legislature,  a somewhat  imposing  structure,  and  presenting  a 
very  fine  appearance  from  the  river.  Here  sat  the  State 
Legislators.  Near  to  the  Capitol,  a little  further  down  was 
another  building  of  nearly  the  same  size  and  design,  and 
similar  appearance  from  the  river,  but  of  a very  different 
nature.  It  was  the  deaf  and  dumb  asylum.  There  was  also 
the  State  penitentiary  and  other  State  institutions.  These 
buildings  and  a large  part  of  the  city  were  burned  and  levelled 
to  the  ground  during  the  war.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  city 
was  one  of  the  principal  United  States  arsenals  in  the  South, 
and  a garrison  with  barracks  for  about  1000  men. 

In  this  arsenal  large  stores  of  ordnance,  small  arms, 
ammunition,  and  army  equipments  were  manufactured  and  kept, 
and  the  place  was  garrisoned  by  a detachment  of  United 
States  troops,  a part  of  the  regular  standing  army  of  the 
United  States. 

This  arsenal  was  the  depot  from  which  all  the  forts  in  the 
gulf  States  were  supplied  with  munitions  of  war.  The  forts 
on  the  Indian  frontier,  the  forts  at  Galveston,  and  along  the 
coasts  of  Texas,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  Florida, 
were  also  supplied  from  this  depot.  There  were  several 
powder  magazines,  immense  piles  of  shot  and  shell,  about  1000 


60 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


pieces  of  heavy  ordnance,  and  about  200,000  stands  of  small 
arms,  many  of  the  latter  no  doubt  were  not  of  the  newest 
patterns,  with  large  stores  of  ammunition  and  cavalry  equipage. 

A number  of  men  were  constantly  employed  here  in  the 
manufacture  of  gun-carriages  and  other  stores  and  equipments. 
It  might  be  said  to  have  been  the  Woolwich  of  the  South. 

This  city,  though  not  by  any  means  a large  commercial  city, 
was  a place  of  considerable  importance,  was  a great  rendezvous 
of  the  sugar  and  cotton  planters,  and  being  the  seat  of 
Government  and  the  residence  of  the  Governor  and  other 
State  officials,  it  was  the  centre  of  politics. 

It  was  in  this  place,  after  having  been  for  some  years 
engaged  in  engineering  in  different  parts  of  the  State,  that  I 
resided  for  several  years  immediately  preceding  the  war,  and 
I had  become  connected  as  a junior  partner  in  an  engineering 
establishment  in  the  place.  The  same  company  also  carried 
on  a sawmilling  and  wood  factory  and  a coal  and  steamboat 
business. 

Though  not  a citizen  of  the  United  States,  I had,  partly  for 
pleasure  and  partly  for  policy,  been  an  active  member  of  the 
town  company  of  rifle  volunteers. 

In  the  summer  of  1860  everything  went  well  and  prosperous 
in  this  place.  The  fluctuations  of  business  were  here  not  much 
felt.  People  in  general  were  contented  and  happy,  and  the 
community  had  been  greatly  enlivened  this  summer  by  the  first 
introduction  of  a state  fair,  or  exhibition,  which  proved  a great 
success.  Permission  to  hold  the  fair  within  the  spacious 
garrison  grounds  had  been  given  by  the  United  States  officers, 
who  vied  with  the  citizens  in  their  endeavours  to  encourage 
and  promote  the  object.  Visitors  and  exhibitors  came  from 
all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Many  Northern  manufacturers 
exhibited  their  goods  and  obtained  orders,  all  tending  to  revive 
that  friendly  trade  and  communication  which  canting  fanatics 
and  strife  manufacturers  had  done  so  much  to  impair.  Many 
of  the  planters  in  the  neighbourhood  gave  their  slaves  a holiday 
to  visit  the  exhibition,  and  to  see  these  sable  gentry  happy  for 
the  day,  dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion,  meeting  with  friends 
from  other  plantations,  gracefully  pulling  off  their  gloves  to 
shake  hands,  or  the  “gentlemen”  raising  their  hats  to  “ladies” 
at  an  introduction,  was  certainly  a part  of  the  exhibition  not 
the  least  worth  seeing. 

Several  companies  of  volunteers  from  different  parts  of  the 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


61 


State  joined  with  the  United  States  * troops  stationed  in  the 
garrison  in  a grand  review,  and  the  several  volunteer  com- 
panies competed  for  prizes  to  be  awarded  to  the  best  drilled 
companies,  the  officers  of  the  army  being  the  judges.  The 
company  of  which  I was  a member  won  the  second  prize,  which 
we  carried  off  amid  the  loud  plaudits  of  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  United  States  army.  We  little  dreamt  at  the  time  of 
the  very  different  terms  on  which  we  were  destined  to  meet 
ere  one  short  year  had  passed. 

The  never-failing  theme  of  politics,  which  during  the  excite- 
ment of  the  exhibition  had  partially  been  set  aside  by  the 
population  at  this  place,  before  the  exhibition  grounds  had 
been  cleared  off,  was  renewed  with  a vigour  as  if  to  make  up 
for  lost  time,  and  culminated  in  the  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
followed  by  the  war  and  all  its  disastrous  consequences. 

To  break  up  and  dissever  a great  Federal  Union,  the  very 
name  of  which  was  and  always  had  been  cherished  with  almost 
a sacred  reverence  by  a great  people,  and  had  been  held  up  by 
them  as  the  pride  of  the  world,  may  be  regarded  as  a most 
striking  instance  of  the  instability  of  public  opinion. 

This  was  the  more  striking  in  this  case  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  section  which  had  hitherto  been  apparently, 
and  I believe  sincerely,  the  most  zealous  in  their  desire  to 
maintain  the  Union  should  make  the  first  move  to  disinte- 
grate it. 

I well  remember  the  storm  of  indignation  which  scarcely  a 
year  before  passed  over  the  whole  South  when  the  first  idea  of 
disunion  was  mooted  in  Congress — this  was  by  a Northern 
abolitionist.  It  was  when  Mr.  N.  P.  Banks,  Speaker  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  at  Washington,  in  a moment  of 
excitement  used  the  expression — “ Let  the  Union  slide  ! — 
‘‘  Let  Mr.  Banks  slide,”  was  the  echo  from  nearly  every 


* It  may  be  here  explained  that  the  term  “United  States  army”  or 
“United  States  troops”  was  always  applied  to  the  regular  army  of  the 
United  States  to  distinguish  it  from  the  forces  of  the  individual  States. 
The  former  was  maintained  by  and  under  control  of  the  central  power  at 
Washington,  with  the  President  as  Commander-in  chief,  and  was  upon  the 
same  footing  as  the  regular  standing  armies  of  Europe. 

The  State’s  troops  were  composed  of  militia  and  volunteers,  and  were 
maintained  by  each  individual  State,  the  Governor  of  the  State  being 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the  State.  The  relationship  between 
the  governments  of  the  respective  States  and  the  United  States  was  often 
characteristically  expressed  by  applying  to  the  Federal  Government  the 
familiar  sobriquety  taken  from  the  initials  U.S.,  of  “Uncle  Sam.” 


62 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


journal  and  man  in  the  South.  Such  a treasonable  expression 
coming  from  the  leader  of  a party  was  denounced  and  regarded 
as  most  damaging  to  that  party,  and  liberally  applied  against 
them  by  Southern  orators.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  before  two 
years  had  passed,  Mr.  Banks  was  lighting  against  the  South  to 
keep  the  Union  from  “ sliding,”  and  the  South,  which  had 
denounced  Mr.  Banks  for  the  expression,  was  fighting  to  be 
separated  from  the  Union. 

I may  here  observe  that  at  the  time  Butler  seized  the  specie 
and  closed  up  the  banks  in  Yew  Orleans,  this  same  Banks 
(then  General  Banks)  was  hard  pressed  by  Stonewall  Jacksor. 
in  Northern  Virginia,  and  was  the  subject  of  the  following 
jeu  d!  esprit : — 

“ While  Butler  plays  his  roguish  pranks, 

And  stops  the  run  of  Southern  banks, 

Our  Stonewall  Jackson  by  his  cunning, 

Keeps  Northern  Banks  for  ever  running.” 

To  fully  account  for  what  would  seem  to  be  a strange  revul- 
sion of  sentiment,  and  how  that  revolution  was  brought 
about  and  secession  accomplished,  would  be  presumption  in 
an  obscure  individual  entirely  outside  of  political  or  Govern- 
ment circles. 

I can  merely  attempt  to  describe  to  the  best  of  my  J’ecol- 
lection  events  as  they  happened  under  my  own  observation  and 
experience,  and  which  were  daily  witnessed  and  commented 
upon  at  the  time  by  myself  and  others  of  my  acquaintance  and 
associates,  most  of  whom  were  better  tutored  and  took  more 
interest  in  politics  than  myself. 

To  do  this  it  will  be  necessary  to  advert  to  the  political 
subjects  which  then  agitated  the  public  mind,  and  give  an 
outline  of  the  different  parties  how  they  originated  and  existed 
in  1860. 

The  all-absorbing  topic  at  this  time  was  the  election  of  a 
President.  This  is  an  election  in  which  the  general  people 
take  more  interest  than  any  other.  It  takes  place  every  fourth 
year,  and  is  a national  question  equally  interesting  to  all  parts 
of  the  Union,  and  may  be  taken  as  a test  of  the  public  senti- 
ment on  the  leading  political  questions  of  the  day. 

It  is  an  election  which  calls  forth  an  enormous  amount  of 
political  oratory,  and  the  influence  of  each  party  is  strained  to 
the  utmost.  Nevertheless,  I believe  there  is  less  actual  cor- 
ruption either  in  the  nomination  or  in  the  voting  in  this  election 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


63 


than  in  most  other  elections.  But  there  seems  to  me  to  be  a 
rather  singular  defect  in  the  system  of  electing  a President. 
The  President  is  supposed  to  be  elected  by  the  popular  vote  of 
the  whole  nation  (South  Carolina  excepted),  every  citizen 
giving  his  vote  singly  and  individually  for  the  candidate  of 
his  choice,  which  he  does  by  dropping  into  the  ballot-box  a 
billet  with  the  names  of  the  candidates  he  favours  for  president 
and  vice-president.  The  vote  is  taken  in  every  part  of  the 
United  States  in  one  day.  Notwithstanding  this  a candidate 
may  be  elected  against  whom  by  far  the  largest  number  of 
individual  votes  have  been  polled. 

This  does  not  arise  from  any  corruption  in  the  election,  but 
by  the  system  of  carrying  out  the  election  by  means  of  what 
is  called  the  Electoral  College. 

Each  State  forms  an  electoral  district,  and  each  State, 
according  to  the  number  of  its  population,  is  entitled  to  a 
certain  number  of  electors  or  electoral  votes  for  president. 
This  system,  as  generally  described,  would  imply  that  the 
people  only  vote  for  a certain  number  of  electors  to  whom  is 
entrusted  the  power  of  electing  a president ; but  this  is  not  so. 
Electors  are  no  doubt  appointed  by  each  State  for  their 
respective  candidates,  but  these  electors  are  merely  nominal, 
and  have  no  power  whatever  beyond  formally  presenting  the 
vote  of  the  State  in  favour  of  the  candidate  who  has  polled  the 
greatest  number  of  individual  votes  in  the  State. 

The  candidate  who  polls  the  greatest  number  of  individual 
votes  in  a State  carries  that  State  with  the  whole  electoral 
votes  of  that  State,  and  any  candidate  to  be  elected  must  have 
a majority  of  electoral  votes  over  all  the  other  candidates 
combined  should  there  be  more  than  two.  Notwithstanding, 
a discrepancy  may  arise  in  this  way  : — Take,  for  instance,  the 
State  of  New  York,  allowing  it  to  have,  say,  300,000  voters, 
and  is  entitled  in  proportion  to  45  electoral  votes.  Virginia 
has,  say,  100,000  voters,  and  is  entitled  in  proportion  to  15 
electoral  votes.  A.  and  B.  are  candidates  for  president.  In 
the  State  of  New  York,  when  the  votes  in  the  ballot-boxes  are 
counted,  it  is  found  that  A.  has  polled  160,000  votes  and  B. 
has  polled  140,000.  Thus  A.  has  carried  the  State  and  gained 
45  electoral  votes  for  president. 

In  the  State  of  Virginia,  when  the  votes  in  the  ballot  boxes 
are  counted,  it  is  found  that  A.  has  polled  only  15,000  votes 
and  B.  85,000 ; thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  those  two  States 


64 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


only  175,000  of  the  citizen  voters  have  voted  for  A.,  yet  he 
has  obtained  45  electoral  votes  for  president,  while  225,000 
have  voted  for  B.  and  he  has  only  15  electoral  votes  for  presi- 
dent. This,  of  course,  is  showing  a possibility  and  an  extreme 
case,  and  there  is  no  doubt  when  the  whole  of  the  States  come 
to  be  taken  together  the  chances  of  the  candidates  become 
more  equalized.  Nevertheless  the  instance  given  shows  the 
possibility  of  a president  being  elected  by  a minority,  particu- 
larly if  a political  question  arises  affecting  the  geographical 
position,  as  was  the  case  in  1860. 

I understand  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  though  having  a majority  of 
electoral  votes  over  all  the  other  candidates  combined,  was 
still  very  much  in  the  minority  by  the  popular  vote.  This  of 
course  could  be  easily  accounted  for,  as  the  South  was  almost 
unanimously  against  him,  and  in  some  of  the  States  his  name 
never  appeared  at  all ; while  in  some  of  the  Northern  States 
which  gave  him  a large  electoral  vote,  he  carried  the  State  by 
a very  small  majority.  He  was  therefore  what  was  called  a 
minority  president. 

The  long-standing  political  parties  in  the  United  States 
were  the  Whig  party,  which  dated  from  the  revolution  and 
war  of  independence.  The  Democratic  party  sprung  up  shortly 
after  the  death  of  Washington,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  and  during  the  administration  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  who  has  been  called  the  father  of  democracy.  It 
was  strengthened  some  twenty-five  years  later  by  Andrew 
Jackson,  and  got  into  the  ascendancy,  and  the  Whig  party 
began  to  go  down. 

In  1853  another  party  was  started  on  the  ruins  of  the  Whig 
party,  called  the  “ Native  American  ’’  or  Know-nothing 
party.  This  party  was  somewhat  hostile  to  foreigners  and 
naturalised  citizens,  and  lasted  but  a short  time. 

Another  party  then  sprung  up  in  opposition  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  afterwards  called  the  Bepublican  party.  This 
party  was  composed  of  different  sects,  all  more  or  less  opposed 
to  slavery.  This  party  in  1856  ran  John  C.  Fremont  as  a 
candidate  for  president  against  J ames  Buchanan  for  the 
Democratic  party,  and  Mr.  Filmore  for  the  Native  American 
party,  when  Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected  by  a majority  over 
Mr.  Fremont  and  Mr.  Filmore  combined.  One  of  the 
professed  objects  of  the  Fremont  party  was  said  to  be  the 
settlement  of  the  negro  question  by  establishing  a negro 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


65 


republic  in  Africa  or  some  other  place.  Hence  it  got  in  the 
South  the  name  of  the  ‘‘  Black  Republican  party.” 

In  1860,  when- Mr.  Buchanan’s  term  of  office  was  drawing 
to  a close,  the  position  of  parties  was  somewhat  confused  and 
complicated.  The  Democratic  party  having  been  long  in 
power  was  now  regarded  by  many,  both  North  and  South,  as 
having  become  hopelessly  corrupt.  The  Native  American 
party  having  made  such  a poor  show  at  the  election  of  1856 
by  carrying  only  one  State  (the  State  of  Maryland)  was  now 
considered  extinct. 

The  Republican  party  had  considerably  increased  in  the 
North,  but  as  it  was  hostile  to  slavery,  it  was  rigidly  sup- 
pressed in  the  South,  and  as  it  increased  in  strength,  so 
increased  the  hostile  feeling  between  North  and  South.  Dark 
hints  as  to  the  danger  of  a dissolution  of  the  Union  now  began 
to  be  thrown  out. 

The  alleged  corruptness  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  the 
danger  of  disunion  supposed  to  arise  from  the  increasing  power 
of  the  Republican  party  in  the  North,  was  the  means  of  stir- 
ring up  in  1860  a large  portion  of  the  more  moderate  men  of 
all  parties,  both  North  and  South,  to  organise  a party  whose 
avowed  principles  were  to  uphold  the  Constitution,  the  Union, 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws.  The  Democrats  opposed  that 
party,  considering  such  sentiments  quite  superfluous. 

The  Constitution,  they  considered,  was  embodied  in  the 
principles  and  platform  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  Union 
they  considered  to  be  in  no  danger,  and  they  scouted  the  idea 
of  a disruption.  The  only  union  they  considered  necessary  to 
preserve  was  the  union  of  the  Democratic  party.  Tlie  enforce- 
ment of  the  laws,  they  considered,  was  quite  sufficiently 
attended  to,  at  least  for  their  purpose.  Probably  some  of 
their  leaders  supposed  that  if  the  laws  were  very  rigidly 
enforced,  they  might  not  then  have  been  enjoying  that  glorious 
liberty  they  were  so  constantly  prating  about. 

There  was,  no  doubt,  a few  of  the  leading  politicians  of  each 
party  who  entertained  a slight  idea  of  this  kind. 

After  holding  a convention  at  Charleston,  the  Southern 
parties  failed  to  come  to  any  agreement  upon  a candidate,  and 
the  convention  broke  up,  each  determining  to  act  indepen- 
dently, the  Democrats  nominating  as  their  candidate  John 
C.  Breckenridge,  who  was  vice-president  during  Buchanan’s 
administration,  and  Mr.  Lane  as  vice-president. 

E 


66 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  Constitutional  and  Union  party  nominated  as  their 
candidate  John  Bell  for  president,  and  Edward  Everitt  for 
vice-president. 

The  Bepublican  party,  who  held  a convention  at  Chicago, 
nominated  as  their  candidate  Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln  of  Illinois. 

There  was  also  another  candidate,  a Mr.  Douglas  of  Illinois, 
who  came  forward  in  the  interests  of  the  Northern  Democrats, 
so  that  there  were  in  all  four  candidates  in  the  field  for  presi- 
dent, each  party  holding  forth  their  respective  views,  and  the 
political  atmosphere  was  much  troubled,  a great  many  of  the 
people  not  knowing  or  regarding  much  the  different  narrow 
points  set  forth  by  the  leaders  as  questions  of  vital  importance, 
and  the  result  of  the  election  seemed  to  depend  a good  deal 
upon  chance. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  at  that  time  regarded  as  an  abolitionist 
or  in  favour  of  abolishing  slavery  within  the  States  where  it 
at  the  time  existed.  He  was  what  was  called  a ‘‘  Free  Soiler,” 
that  is,  he  was  against  any  further  extension  of  slavery,  and 
was  for  confining  it  to  certain  limits  south  of  a certain  parallel 
of  latitude,  and  that  it  should  be  prohibited  in  any  of  the 
territories. 

This  view  did  not  seem  unreasonable  to  moderate  men  in 
the  South,  and  I believe  was  privately  acquiesced  in  by  most 
reasonable  men,  but  it  was  not  the  Southern  politics  of  the 
day.  The  seeds  of  discord  had  been  too  thickly  sown,  and  the 
strife  and  enmity  so  effectually  stirred  up  between  North  and 
South  by  the  canting  abolitionists  of  the  North  and  the  bully- 
ing fire-eaters  of  the  South,  that  every  word  was  distrusted, 
and  sucli  doctrine  dared  not  be  even  talked  of  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Lincoln’s  nomination,  his  election,  and  subsequent 
popularity  I consider  arose  more  from  a train  of  circumstances 
than  from  any  high  qualification  as  a statesman.  Some  of 
these  circumstances  had  a smack  of  the  humorous  or  comical, 
which  is  a most  powerful  factor  in  American  politics  and 
elections.  He  was  facetious  in  conversation,  and  his  speeches 
were  characterised  by  an  amount  of  humour  which  never  failed 
to  bring  him  thunders  of  applause ; and  let  a man  get  the 
name  of  being  a humourist  and  every  sentence  he  utters  is 
considered  as  entitled  to  a laugh,  although  it  may  be  difficult 
sometimes  to  see  where  the  laugh  comes  in.  The  anecdotes 
attributed  to  Lincoln,  some  of  which  were  not  of  the  most 
refined  nature,  would  have  filled  a volume. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


67 


I have  always  observed  that  some  trivial  incident  or  event 
coupled  with  a candidate’s  name  or  profession,  and  more 
especially  if  this  has  obtained  for  him  some  favourable  sobri- 
quet, is  a most  powerful  agency,  particularly  with  mob  or 
bunkum  at  elections. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln’s  name  was  put  before  the  Republican 
party  as  a candidate  for  president  at  the  Chicago  convention, 
as  a testimonial  of  his  qualification  a bundle  of  old  fence  rails 
was  carried  into  the  convention  hall  by  some  of  his  admirers 
and  supporters,  and  displayed  as  having  been  split  by  him  in 
his  younger  days.  While  this  was  used  as  a text  in  the 
speeches  of  his  supporters,  it  called  forth  a good  deal  of  joking 
and  jeering  from  his  opponents,  and  was  the  cause  of  some 
squibs  appearing  in  the  newspapers,  such  as — 

“ Mr.  Editor.  Please  put  down  my  name  as  a candidate  for 
President  of  the  United  States.  I split  rails  in  this  State 
thirty  years  ago;  I am  sound  on  the  goose.  Yours,  Bill 
Stubbins.” 

All  this,  however,  only  tended  to  bring  Lincoln’s  name  more 
before  the  public,  and  whether  he  obtained  the  nomination  on 
the  strength  of  his  skill  in  splitting  rails  or  from  some  other 
qualification  I don’t  know,  but  there  was  something  in  the 
matter  so  pertaining  to  rural  or  backwood  life  as  to  make  the 
name  savour  of  homely,  honest  industry,  that  it  obtained  for 
him  the  sobriquet  of  “ Honest  Abe.” 

This  appellation  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  chief  agents  that 
elected  him  to  office,  and  gave  him  his  high  popularity ; and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  thousands  voted  merely  for  Honest  Abe” 
without  knowing  or  considering  what  was  the  qualification  or 
policy  of  the  man  himself.  This  sobriquet  adhered  to  him  and 
strengthened  his  popularity  to  the  end  of  his  days,  and  added 
greatly  to  the  deep  emotion  and  excitement  caused  by  his 
tragical  end.  He  was  no  doubt  a good,  honest,  and  well- 
meaning  man,  altogether  too  honest  and  simple  for  the  trying 
position  he  had  to  fill  and  the  artful  wire-pullers  around  him. 
But  I never  could  see  that  he  possessed  any  extraordinary 
talent  or  sagacity  as  a statesman.  Nothing  in  my  opinion  can 
be  more  absurdly  ridiculous  or  traducive  to  the  memory  of  one 
of  the  world’s  greatest  men  than  the  presumption  of  comparing 
even  in  the  smallest  degree  Lincoln  with  Washington,  if  it  was 
for  nothing  more  than  the  respect  for  virtue  that  the  very 
presence  of  Washington  commanded. 


68 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


It  might  be  said  that,  while  the  most  unprincipled  jobbery 
and  corruption  would  revel  in  Lincoln’s  very  presence,  the 
perpetrators  of  it  hoodwinking  him  by  flattery  or  using  him  as 
a buffet,  one  stern  look  from  George  Washington,  as  he  stood 
forth  a pillar  of  what  was  noble  and  good  in  man,  would  have 
paralyzed  them  with  terror. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated  I do  confidently  believe- 
that  among  the  great  masses  of  Southern  people  the  thought 
was  not  for  one  moment  indulged  that  his  election  would  cause 
a dissolution  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  regarded  by 
the  South  as  a man  of  extreme  partisan  views  or  a man  of 
great  political  powers,  and  he  openly  declared  that  his  policy 
was  not  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  slavery  in  the  States 
where  it  already  existed.  Thus  his  nomination  did  not  cause 
much  excitement  among  the  great  body  of  the  real  indus- 
trious people,  and  a very  general  expression  that  I often 
heard  privately  made  was,  that  they  believed  Mr.  Lincoln 
would  make  a very  good  President.  Unfortunately  this  was 
only  the  heartfelt  sentiments  in  the  homes  and  domestic  circles 
of  the  quiet,  industrious  people  who  would  have  only  to  wait 
until  the  political  trumpet  sounded. 

If  the  South  had  any  justifiable  cause  to  rise  in  rebellion  on 
Lincoln’s  election  it  could  not  be  attributed  so  much  to  him 
personally  or  to  his  avowed  policy,  as  to  his  supposed  con- 
nection or  alliance  with  a party  who  adopted  an  insidious 
policy  too  common  throughout  the  world,  and  who,  while 
pursuing  aggression  under  the  shield  of  fraternity  and  good 
will,  keep  edging  closer  to  get  their  knee  on  the  throat  of  their 
victim,  and  meantime  reply  in  the  blandest  manner  to  any 
remonstrance  in  this  wise,  Oh,  my  dear  sir,  our  intentions 
are  pacific,  we  would  not  injure  you  for  the  world,”  while 
nevertheless  they  continue  carrying  on  their  encroachments. 


CHAPTER  V. 


KLECTION  OF  LINCOLN— SECESSION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA— SUSPENSE  AND 
EXCITEMENT  IN  THE  SOUTH — A PLEBISCITE  DECIDED  UPON — POLITICIANS 
AT  WORK— CERTAIN  CAUSES  FOR  SECESSION— A SPECIMEN  OF  ORATORY- 
PRECEPT  AND  PRACTICE  AS  SHOWN  IN  THE  SEQUEL. 

When  the  election  took  place  on  the  5th  of  November,  1860, 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  declared  elected.  This  was  nothing  more 
than  was  expected  even  in  the  South,  and  caused  very  little 
excitement  in  Louisiana,  at  least  among  the  people  at  large. 
But  some  excitement  was  created  shortly  afterwards  by  the 
announcement  that  South  Carolina  had  by  an  Act  of  her 
Legislature  seceded  from  the  Union.  This  was  regarded  at 
first  by  many  of  the  sober-minded  people  as  an  act  of  bragga- 
docio by  a hot-headed  legislature.  South  Carolina  being  unique 
among  the  other  States  in  the  Union  in  granting  to  her  legis- 
lature extraordinary  powders,  even  to  the  vote  for  president, 
which  power  is,  or  was  at  that  time,  vested  in  the  legis- 
lature. The  question  was  now,  How  would  this  proceeding 
be  regarded?  Would  it  be  ratified  or  endorsed  by  the  people 
of  South  Carolina ; would  it  be  recognised  by  any  of  the  other 
States ; or  would  the  secession  be  recognised  or  permitted  by 
the  Federal  Government  ? 

It  was  remembered  that  South  Carolina  had  on  a former 
occasion  during  Jackson’s  administration  stood  out  against 
the  authority  of  the  Federal  Government  and  repudiated  the 
tarifi*  imposed  by  Congress  of  duties  on  goods  imported,  defied 
the  Federal  authority,  and  threatened  to  secede  from  the 
Union  and  prepared  for  .war  against  the  Federal  Government. 
President  Jackson  took  a strong  position,  and  threatened  war 
against  the  State  to  coerce  it  to  obedience.  But  Congress,  to 
avoid  civil  war,  removed  the  grievance  by  reducing  the  tarifi*, 
which  satisfied  South  Carolina,  and  civil  war  was  averted. 
This  precedent  rather  tended  to  weaken  the  Federal  authority, 
and  left  the  question  of  the  right  of  a State  to  secede  from  the 
Union  still  in  abeyance. 

After  some  days’  suspense  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any 
notice  taken  of  the  proceedings  in  South  Carolina  at  this 


70 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


time,  nor  any  action  taken  by  the  Federal  Government  at 
Washington. 

In  the  meantime  it  had  been  arranged  to  take  the  sense  of 
the  people  in  each  of  the  Southern  States  as  to  whether  the 
Southern  States  should  act  in  co-operation  or  secede  separately 
from  the  Union.  This  vote  was  construed  to  mean — whether 
the  Southern  States  should  remain  in  the  Union  and  act  as  a 
bo4y  in  Congress,  or  secede  entirely  from  the  Union. 

In  the  meantime  politicians  had  been  holding  their  conclaves 
as  to  which  side  they  should  take. 

In  former  presidential  elections  there  had  always  been  a 
goodly  number  of  Federal  offices  to  dispose  of  among  the 
political  spirits  of  each  State,  who  had  worked  hard  to  secure 
the  return  of  the  president  elect,  which  at  this  time  would  not 
fall  to  any  of  the  Southern  politicians,  as  there  had  been  no 
workers  for  Mr.  Lincoln  in  any  of  the  Southern  States. 
There  were  also  the  permanent  Federal  officials  at  the  ports 
and  in  the  department  of  customs  within  the  States  and  others 
who  held  their  offices  from  the  Federal  Government,  but  who 
had  become  so  identified  with  the  politics  of  the  State  that, 
even  if  allowed  to  retain  their  offices,  they  could  not  now  with 
honour  remain  in  them  under  the  administration  of  a party 
which  they  had  so  lately  denounced. 

Influence  was  also  said  to  have  sprung  up  from  another 
quarter  outside  of  political  circles. 

A great  many  of  the  plantations  and  slaves  in  the  South 
were  heavily  mortgaged  to  Northern  capitalists.*  The  greater 
part  of  the  cotton  produced  in  the  South  was  shipped  to 
Europe  in  Northern-owned  ships  and  through  Northern  agen- 
cies, and  many  of  the  Southern  planters  were  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  Nortliern  capitalists.  It  was  also  said  that  many 
of  the  merchants  in  the  South  were  heavily  indebted  to 
Northern  houses  of  business. 

It  was  also  held  that  the  Northern  States,  having  a majority 
in  Congress,  imposed  tariffs,  and  so  managed  legislation  as  to 
cause  the  whole  of  the  trade  between  tlie  South  and  Europe  to 
pass  through  Nortliern  agencies,  wliich  secured  from  it  heavy 
tariffs  and  commissions.  It  was  also  held  out  somewhat 
bitterly  that,  while  the  South  did  the  hard  work,  took  the 
responsibility  or  odium  of  being  slaveholders,  and  produced  the 
exports,  and  maintained  tlie  prosperity  of  the  nation,  the 

* In  these  mortgages  the  plantations  and  slaves  generally  went  together, 
but  not  always. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


71 


North  derived  the  benefit,  and  pocketed  the  lion’s  share  of  the 
profits.  Whether  these  allegations  were  just  or  partly  so, 
they  had  no  doubt  considerable  efiect  in  causing  some  of  the 
more  influential  men  to  regard  with  favour  any  movement  for 
tlie  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  perhaps,  by  some  of  them,  as 
one  way  of  getting  rid  of  their  liabilities. 

In  the  town  and  county  of  Baton  Rouge  the  public  feeling 
and  popular  vote  had  been  in  favour  of  the  Union  and  consti- 
tutional party,  and  the  popular  feeling  was  strongly  in  favour 
of  Union,  but  the  politicians  and  State  Government  were 
Democratic,  and  favoured  secession. 

When  the  secession  of  South  Carolina  became  a certainty, 
some  of  the  politicians  began  to  appear  about  the  cafes  with 
tricolour  rosettes  in  their  hats.  This  was  at  first  pretended  to 
be  a kind  of  frolic,  but  a day  had  now  been  fixed  for  taking 
tlie  vote  of  the  State  on  the  question,  and  parties  for  or  against 
secession  had  now  taken  the  field,  the  political  party  going  for 
secession,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  people  holding  aloof. 

Meetings  were  now  held  with  audiences  drummed  up  from 
every  available  source.  Irish  labourers,  proud  of  their  citizen- 
ship, fond  of  politics,  easily  led,  and  always  ready  to  take  part 
in  any  political  agitation,  were  now  in  great  demand,  and  were 
flattered,  coaxed,  and  prevailed  upon  to  attend  the  meetings 
and  give  their  decision  on  the  great  question  of  the  day. 

The  regular  political  gang,  with  tricolours  in  their  hats, 
headed  by  the  office-holders,  occupied  the  front  seats,  the  whole 
audience  garnished  with  a few  rabid  slaveholding  planters  and 
merchants,  many  of  them  no  doubt  sincere  in  their  belief  in 
the  justice  and  excellency  of  Southern  institutions  and  the 
expediency  of  Southern  independence ; others,  in  the  hands  of 
and  pressed  by  their  Northern  creditors,  were  willing  to  have 
their  liabilities  wiped  off  in  a general  smash-up. 

These  meetings  were  harangued  by  political  orators  with  all 
the  soul-stirring  eloquence  that  political  education  and  practice 
could  produce.  Blatant  demagogues  who  supported  the  move- 
ment were  magnified  into  men  of  the  greatest  genius  and 
patriotism,  while  the  name  of  William  L.  Yancy  resounded 
from  every  platform,  every  cafe  and  street-corner  crowd  as  the 
greatest  living  man  of  the  day. 

As  a specimen  of  the  rhetoric  poured  forth  at  those  meet- 
ings I will  give  an  instance  of  what  I actually  saw  and  heard 
at  one  of  them. 


72 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Walking  out  with  a friend  one  evening  we  went  into  one 
meeting  just  to  see  what  was  going  on.  The  audience  was 
being  addressed  by  a well-known  politician  who  was  known  as 
Judge  B.,  and  the  following  is  a part  of  the  speech  which  we 
heard  and  the  words  just  about  as  he  uttered  them  : — 

Fellow-citizens, — This  is  a white  man’s  country  ; we  have 
formed  a part  of  the  Union  of  the  great  United  States;  we 
have  been  one  of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  great  galaxy ; we 
have  reverenced  that  Union;  we  have  been  true  and  loyal  to 
it,  but  when  a treacherous  phalanx  within  that  Union  seeks 
to  crush  us  under  their  iron  heel,  seeks  to  trample  us  into  the 
dust,  rob  us  of  our  own  birthright  and  set  the  black  man  over 
us,  are  we  to  submit  to  such  degradation  ? Fellow-citizens, 
will  you  submit  to  eat  dirt  ? I tell  you  if  you  submit  to  a 
black  Bepublican  President  you  do  so.  No,  fellow-citizens, 
the  blood  of  our  noble  forefathers  runs  in  our  veins ; we 
inherit  the  rights  they  have  purchased  by  that  blood ; they 
have  bequeathed  to  us  their  beaming  swords  to  defend  those 
rights  ; shall  these  swords  rust  in  our  hands  ? Never  ! Fellow- 
citizens,  I say.  Never ! Where  are  the  men  who  call  them- 
selves Unionists'?  Those  submissionists  who  hanker  after  the 
flesh-pots  of  Egypt  ? Fellow-citizens,  before  I would  submit  to 
such  degradation,  even  if  I cannot  get  a single  man  to  follow 
me,  I will  arm  myself  and  go  to  the  frontier  and  take  my 
stand  there  and  fight  while  a spark  of  life  remains  within  me, 
and  these  Northern  hordes,  the  enemies  of  my  country,  before 
they  shall  put  a foot  on  this  sacred  soil  they  shall  have  to  pass 
over  my  lifeless  body.” 

“ Hold  him,”  whispered  my  companion  in  my  ear,  as  he 
pulled  me  by  the  sleeve  to  come  away,  and  we  retired,  not 
caring  to  make  any  remark  until  we  got  out  of  the  crowd, 
which  we  just  effected  as  the  tremendous  cheering  which 
greeted  this  last  sally  had  died  away. 

On  our  way  home  we  passed  where  several  gentlemen  of  our 
acquaintance  were  seated  in  a verandah,  and  knowing  them  to 
be  of  the  more  peacefully  disposed  Union  party,  and  that  they 
had  not  been  at  the  meeting,  we  began  in  a jocular  way  to 
rally  them  on  their  want  of  zeal  and  patriotism,  and  related  what 
we  had  heard  spoken  at  the  meeting.  They  laughed  in 
derision  at  what  they  termed  balderdash,  observing  that  there 
were  plenty  of  sensible  men  in  the  country  to  overrule  the 
ravings  of  a few  unprincipled  demagogues  who,  before  six 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT, 


73 


months  had  passed,  would  deny  they  had  ever  uttered  such 
w^ords  or  appeared  with  a tricolour  in  their  hats. 

To  show  what  dependence  may  be  placed  in  the  integrity  or 
patriotism  of  professional  agitators,  contrasted  with  what  may 
spring  from  the  more  quiet  and  unassuming  in  time  of  necessity, 
I may  mention  that  about  two  years  after  this,  I happened  to 
visit  Baton  Rouge ; New  Orleans  had  then  been  captured  and 
Baton  Rouge  was  occupied  by  the  Northern  troops.  I made 
inquiries  after  many  of  my  old  friends,  amongst  whom  were 
some  of  the  peacefully  inclined  men  of  Union  proclivities  with 
whom  we  had  been  talking  in  the  verandah  on  the  night  of  the 
meeting  referred  to.  I found  that  every  one  of  them  capable 
of  bearing  arms  had  taken  the  field  and  were  now  in  the 
Confederate  army,  their  houses  were  deserted  and  their 
families  had  retired  within  the  Confederate  lines,  preferring  to 
abandon  their  homes  and  endure  the  privations  within  the 
Confederate  lines  to  remaining  in  their  homes  under  the 
Union  flag,  although  food  and  all  the  necessities  of  life  were 
there  in  abundance.  How  this  great  change  in  sentiment  took 
place  may  be  somewhat  accounted  for  from  what  took  place 
prior  to  the  actual  breaking  out  of  the  war,  which  I will 
endeavour  to  recount  in  its  place.  Whilst  thinking  over  the 
cause  which  had  produced  this  change  in  sentiment,  and 
endeavouring  to  find  out  more  of  the  course  taken,  and  the 
present  position  and  circumstances  of  some  of  my  former 
acquaintances,  I chanced  to  step  into  a cafe,  within  a hundred 
yards  of  where  I had  heard  that  exciting  speech  delivered  two 
years  previously.  There  the  first  thing  that  met  my  eye  was 
our  friend  Judge  B.,  who  I might  have  supposed  to  have  long 
before  this  been  lying  dead  on  the  frontier,  surrounded  by  the 
dead  bodies  of  the  Northern  hordes  whom  he  had  slain ; but 
here  he  was,  playing  billiards  and  hobnobbing  with  some 
officers  of  the  Northern  army.  I wondered  whether  he  might 
not  be  on  the  secret  service  and  acting  as  a spy.  I was  told, 
however,  that  he  had  never  taken  up  arms,  or  joined  the 
Southern  army  at  all,  but  kept  shuffling  until  the  Federal 
troops  entered  the  town,  when  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  meet 
them — not  armed  and  in  a hostile  way,  but  to  make  his  peace 
with  them  and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  was  now  trying 
to  get  under  the  Federal  Government  some  safe  and  easy  civil 
appointment.  I do  not  think  that  ever  in  my  life  I felt  such 
an  inclination  to  go  up  to  a man  and  kick  him. 


CHAPTER  YI. 


SECESSION  OF  ALABAMA,  FLORIDA,  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  GEORGIA— MEETING  OF 
CONGRESS — BUCHANAN’S  MESSAGE — INACTION  OF  CONGRESS — ANNOUNCE- 
MENT OF  THE  RESULT  OF  THE  PLEBISCITE  IN  LOUISIANA — ITS  ACCURACY 
QUESTIONED— DISSENT  OVERRULED— ACT  OF  SECESSION  PASSED— SEIZURE 
OF  THE  ARSENAL — DEPARTURE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES’  TROOPS— DISAFFEC- 
TION AMONG  THE  VOLUNTEERS. 

Very  shortly  after  this  agitation  commenced,  the  intelligence 
came  of  the  secession  of  the  States  of  Alabama,  Florida, 
Mississippi,  and  Georgia,  all  within  a few  days  of  each  other. 
As  the  news  came  of  each  successive  secession,  it  was  hailed 
with  great  enthusiasm  by  the  political  rabble  and  the  pro- 
secession party.  Salutes  were  fired,  and  lone  star  flags 
were  borne  through  the  streets  in  honour  of  each  State 
respectively  amidst  the  cheering  of  the  rabble,  almost  mad 
with  excitement. 

In  the  meantime  business  was  almost  at  a standstill,  money 
had  become  scarce,  and  confidence  in  business  circles  was  gone, 
the  political  commotion  was  increasing.  The  great  body  of  the 
more  law-abiding  people  began  to  wonder  how  all  this  was 
going  to  end,  and  as  the  Congress  at  Washington  was  about  to 
meet,  they  strained  their  patience  to  see  what  action  it  would 
take  in  the  matter. 

When  Congress  met.  President  Buchanan  in  his  message 
pointed  out  that,  while  there  was  no  provision  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  to  give  any  individual  State  the 
right  to  secede  from  the  Union,  there  was  no  provision  to  pre- 
vent it  from  seceding,  or  to  coerce  it  to  remain  in  the  Union, 
should  it  elect  to  secede.  There  was  a provision  that  no  two 
or  more  States  should  join  in  or  form  any  coalition  without 
the  consent  of  the  United  States,  but  if  a State  should  secede 
separately  from  the  Union,  he  saw  no  power  under  the  consti- 
tution to  prevent  it.  He  did  not  see  the  right  of  the  Federal 
executive  to  interfere,  and  left  the  matter  with  Congress. 

Congress  came  to  no  decision  on  the  point,  and  no  action 
was  taken.  This  inaction  of  Congress  was  regarded  by  many 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


75 


as  virtually  a recognition  hj  the  Federal  Government  of  the 
right  of  any  individual  State  to  secede  from  the  Union. 

The  leaders  in  the  secession  movement  seem  to  have  taken 
the  same  view  of  the  constitution  as  Mr.  Buchanan,  and  acted 
upon  it,  for  they  adopted  the  plan  of  each  State  seceding 
separately,  and  each  forming  itself  first  into  a separate  and 
independent  power,  and  then  as  an  independent  power  enter- 
ing into  coalition  and  forming  a combination  or  union  with 
other  States,  being  also  already  independent  powers.  This 
was,  no  doubt,  only  a device  to  evade  or  avoid  a direct 
violation  of  the  constitution,  or,  as  it  was  expressed,  a mere 
“whipping  of  the  devil  round  the  stump.”  Nevertheless,  the 
indecision  of  Congress,  and  the  inaction  of  the  Federal  execu- 
tive seemed  to  satisfy  many  who  had  as  yet  formed  no  opinion 
and  had  taken  no  part  in  the  movement  that  the  States  had  at 
least  the  right  to  secede. 

When  the  plebiscite  on  the  question  was  taken  in  Louisiana, 
it  being  different  from  an  ordinary  election,  the  Government 
executive  took  control  of  the  polling,  and  announced  the  result 
to  be  in  favour  of  secession.  This  was,  of  course,  received 
with  tremendous  cheering  by  the  secession  party,  and  the 
demagogue  mob  which  seemed  to  have  been  got  ready  to  greet 
the  announcement,  and  send  it  out  over  the  land  accompanied 
with  such  deafening  shouts  as  would  effectually  check,  smother, 
and  drown  any  voice  which  might  attempt  to  express  dissent, 
doubt  its  accuracy,  or  dare  to  inquire  into  its  correctness.  It 
was  said  that  the  announcement  was  given  out  before  the 
result  was  known  and  before  some  of  the  distant  counties 
were  heard  from. 

Some  people,  however,  did  express  their  doubts  as  to  the 
correctness  of  the  returns,  and  some  Union  papers  were  bold 
enough  to  insist  upon  the  returns  being  published,  each  county 
separately.  This,  of  course,  could  not  be  refused,  and  a state- 
ment was  published  giving  the  returns  from  each  county.  The 
vote  was  small,  showing  that  many  had  refrained  from  voting, 
but  showing  in  the  aggregate  a majority  for  secession.  This 
was,  however,  criticised  by  some  of  the  Union  papers,  which 
pointed  out  several  discrepancies,  and  particularly  where  one 
populous  county,  which  was  known  to  be  strongly  in  favour  of 
union,  was  left  out  of  the  return  altogether. 

Such  remonstrances,  however,  were  soon  clamoured  down 
and  declared  as  unpatriotic ; and  now  that  the  State  had  by 


76 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  unmistakable  voice  of  the  people  declared  and  asserted  its 
independence,  and  was  now  a free  and  independent  State,  any 
one  that  should  raise  his  voice  against  it  should  be  denounced 
as  a traitor. 

Before  this,  however,  and  immediately  after  it  was  announced 
that  the  vote  of  the  State  was  for  secession,  and  in  order  to 
increase  the  enthusiasm,  the  old  days  of  1776  were  re-enacted. 
A Declaration  of  Independence,”  similar  to  that  signed  at 
Philadelphia  in  1776  was  drawn  up  and  signed,  and  an  Act 
passed  by  the  Legislature  repealing  the  Act  of  the  Union  of 
Louisiana  with  the  United  States,  and  Louisiana  was  declared 
to  be  a free  and  independent  State. 

All  this  was  carried  through  so  quick  that  the  people  in 
general  had  scarcely  time  to  think.  There  was  no  time  for 
remonstrance ; the  people’s  minds  seemed  to  be  carried  along 
with  the  current  from  one  excitement  to  another. 

What  was  lately  a State  was  now  declared  to  have  become 
a nation,  with  all  its  accompanying  responsibilities.  To  form 
a cabinet,  organise  the  different  departments,  and  appoint 
the  necessary  officials  to  each  office,  there  could  be  no  difficulty, 
at  least  from  lack  of  men  to  hll  them.  The  greatest  difficulty 
was  rather  how  to  dispose  of  the  surplus  and  satisfy  expec- 
tants. But  a more  serious  movement  was  now  determined 
upon  by  the  State  Government. 

There  was,  as  I have  said,  at  Baton  Rouge  a United  States 
garrison  with  a large  arsenal  adjoining,  containing  a large  stock 
of  ordnance  stores,  small  arms,  and  ammunition.  Intelligence 
was  received  that  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  the  State 
Volunteer  troops  had  seized  Fort  Moultrie,  and  that  at  Mobile, 
Alabama,  the  State  Volunteer  troops  had  seized  Fort  Morgan. 
Against  these  seizures  no  action  was  taken  or  remonstrance 
made  by  the  Federal  Government  or  War  department.  Major 
Anderson,  in  command  of  the  United  States  troops  at  Charles- 
ton, had,  upon  his  own  responsibility,  made  a stratagetical 
movement  by  taking  his  forces  from  Fort  Moultrie  to  Fort 
Sumter. 

A deputation  of  the  leading  men  in  the  secession  movement 
now  waited  upon  Governor  Moore,  of  Louisiana,  to  urge  upon 
hi'm  the  importance  and  necessity  of  taking  possession  in  the 
name  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  of  the  United  States  garrison 
and  arsenal  at  Baton  Rouge. 

The  garrison  was  at  the  time  occupied  by  a detachment 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


77 


numbering  about  80  men  of  the  regular  army  of  the  United 
States,  with  some  three  or  four  light  field  guns,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  Hoskins.  The  place  was  no  kind  of  a fort,  or 
in  any  way  a place  of  defence. 

A demand  was  made  upon  Major  Hoskins  by  Governor 
Moore,  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  to  deliver  over 
to  the  State  the  whole  of  the  property  with  all  arms  and 
munitions  stored  in  it  belonging  to  the  United  States.  Major 
Hoskins  telegraphed  to  Washington  for  instructions.  The 
position  was  one  of  extreme  difficulty.  The  Federal  Govern- 
ment at  Washington  was  democratic,  and  acknowledged  the 
doctrine  of  the  supremacy  of  States  sovereignty;  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Floyd,  and  several  members  of  the  Cabinet  were 
Southern  men,  and  General  Scott,  the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army  was  a Southern  man,  and  all  supposed  to  be  more  or 
less  Southern  in  their  proclivities. 

After  waiting  for  a day  or  two  Major  Hoskins  stated  that 
he  could  get  no  satisfactory  reply  or  instructions,  but  he 
refused  to  surrender  the  place  unless  an  overwhelming  force 
was  brought  against  it.  It  was  afterwards  agreed  that  he 
would  deliver  over  the  place  to  a force  of  not  less  than  from 
600  to  800  of  the  State  Volunteer  troops. 

I may  here  say  in  regard  to  the  standing  army  of  the 
United^tates  at  that  time  it  consisted  of  about  12,000  men  of 
all  ai;ms ; that  in  efficiency  it  should  be  up  to  the  standard  of 
any  European  army. 

The  officers  were  all  graduates  of  that  famous  military 
training  institution.  West  Point.  The  non-commissioned 
officers  must  be  picked  men  of  good  education  and  thorough 
military  training.  A large  number  of  the  soldiers  were 
Europeans,  mostly  Irish  and  German,  and  many  of  them  had 
served  in  the  British  army  and  other  armies  of  Europe. 

The  Governor  now  called  out  the  State  Volunteers,  and 
amongst  others  was  the  Baton  Bouge  Rifle  Company,  of  which 
I was  a member,  although  it  was  known  to  be  nothing  more 
than  to  make  a military  display,  and  on  any  other  occasion 
would  have  been  much  enjoyed  by  the  men.  On  this  occasion, 
however,  the  duty  was  very  repugnant  to  the  feelings  of  most 
of  them.  In  our  company  the  most  of  the  men  were  strongly 
union  in  their  sentiments,  and  as  citizens  were  opposed  to  the 
whole  secession  movement.  Nevertheless,  as  they  were  in  the 
service  of  the  State,  it  was  their  duty  to  obey  the  orders  of 


78 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  Governor,  who  was  by  virtue  of  his  office  commander-in- 
chief of  the  State  troops.  They  therefore  responded  to  the 
call,  although  I for  one  confess,  and  I believe  1 might  say  the 
same  for  many  others,  that  I would  much  rather  have  been 
called  upon  to  act  with  the  United  States  troops  to  suppress 
the  secession  movement  and  maintain  the  Union. 

A force  of  about  800  volunteers,  including  about  600  of  a 
very  efficient  corps  from  'New  Orleans,  called  the  Washington 
Artillery,  who,  like  the  United  States  troops,  acted  also  as 
infantry,  and . some  three  or  four  local  companies  were  mar- 
shalled on  the  Boulevards  at  Baton  Rouge  while  the  terms  of 
surrender  were  being  agreed  upon,  inventories  of  stores  made 
out  and  receipts  signed  by  the  Governor,  and  the  property 
formally  lianded  over  to  the  State.  The  United  States  troops 
then  marched  out  with  their  arms  and  colours,  carrying  with 
them  the  United  States  eagle  and  emblem  of  Union  which  had 
been  fixed  over  the  gate  of  the  garrison.  They  embarked  on 
a steamer  which  was  waiting  to  receive  them  at  the  landing 
place  on  the  river  bank. 

The  order  was  then  given  to  the  Washington  Artillery  alone 
to  march  up  and  take  possession  of  the  place,  and  to  the  other 
companies  that  their  services  woTild  not  be  required. 

What  was  the  object  of  this  dispensing  with  the  services  of 
other  companies  I never  learnt ; but  the  officers  took  great 
offence  and  considered  that  they  had  been  slighted  and  dis- 
graced at  not  being  allowed  to  share  in  the  honours  of  march- 
ing up,  and  they  protested  against  what  they  considered  a slur 
on  their  companies.  In  expressing  their  minds  to  the  men, 
the  latter  became  enraged,  or  pretended  to  be  in  a rage,  and 
threw  down  their  arms,  most  of  them  I believe,  and  I for  one, 
only  too  glad  to  have  some  excuse  for  a dissension  of  some 
kind.  They  soon,  however,  took  up  their  arms  as  something 
which  they  might  yet  want ; and  our  captain,  who  appeared 
to  be  in  a towering  rage,  ordered  us  to  break  ranks,  take  our 
arms  and  go  and  put  off  our  uniforms,  and  not  to  put  them  on 
again  till  we  came  out  as  an  independent  company. 

I,  for  one,  did  not  require  to  hear  this  order  a second  time, 
for  in  a very  short  time  I was  home,  my  arms  put  away,  and 
dressed  in  my  citizen  clothes. 

On  going  toward  the  works  I met  my  partner’s  daughter,  a 
girl  of  about  ten  years  of  age,  accompanied  by  a friend,  a girl 
of  about  the  same  age,  who  said  they  were  going  down  to  the 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


79 


steamer  to  take  good-bye  with  Major  Hoskins’  children,  who 
had  been  their  schoolmates.  I agreed  to  accompany  them,  as 
the  streets  were  thronged  with  an  excited  crowd.  I also 
wished  to  have  an  opportunity  of  bidding  a friendly  good-bye 
to  Major  Hoskins  and  his  officers,  with  whom  I had  a slight 
but  pleasant  acquaintance. 

The  boat  was  still  at  the  landing-place  coaling  for  the  passage 
up  the  river,  and  the  soldiers  were  busy  getting  on  board  their 
luggage.  I observed  many  of  the  most  respectable  people  of 
the  place  taking  an  affectionate  adieu  with  the  Major  and  his 
family  and  the  other  officers.  They  had  been  much  respected 
during  the  time  they  had  been  at  Baton  Bouge,  and  it  was 
plainly  to  be  seen  that  there  were  a great  many  of  the  most 
respectable  citizens  who  regarded  the  movement  with  sorrow 
and  indignation,  although  they  dared  not  openly  express  their 
feelings.  On  getting  a word  with  the  Major  I saw  he  deeply 
felt  the  situation,  but  maintained  a dignified  reserve. 

Just  at  that  moment  the  Pelican  flag,  the  emblem  of  the 
State,  was  being  hoisted  on  the  flag-staff  at  the  garrison  amidst 
tremendous  cheering.  On  my  calling  his  attention  to  it,  he 
pointed  to  the  Union  flag  which  was  then  waving  over  the 
steamer,  and  said  with  some  emotion,  You  take  my  word 
for  it,  you  will  see  that  flag  waving  there  again  before  six 
months.”  Sooner,  I hope,”  said  I,  as  I took  my  leave. 

“ So  say  I,”  also  cried  five  or  six  voices  around  me,  as  we 
walked  ashore. 

Having  taken  the  children  to  their  homes  I sauntered  along 
the  streets  to  see  what  might  be  the  outward  display  of  public 
feeling.  But  few  people  were  now  to  be  seen  in  the  streets ; 
the  sounds  of  drunken  orgies  proceeded  from  some  of  the  cafes, 
while  bands  of  politicians  of  the  Government  party  were 
congratulating  each  other  on  the  glorious  event,  and  joining  in 
loud  cheers  for  the  Independent  State  of  Louisiana;”  while 
small  groups  of  more  thoughtful  men  might  be  seen  in  secluded 
corners  talking  in  a lower  and  more  serious  tone,  and  quiet 
whisperings  were  rife  within  doors  of  fears  of  this  being  a 
black  day  for  Baton  Rouge. 

Many  looked  upon  it  as  an  act  of  war  against  the  United 
States,  as  a plundering  raid,  which,  if  the  Federal  Government 
did  not  take  prompt  measures  to  resent,  they  would  be 
unworthy  of  the  name  of  a Government  and  not  entitled  to  the 
respect  of  the  people. 


80 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


I may  observe  that  the  term  Federal  ” was  what  applied 
to  the  Central  Government  at  Washington  over  the  whole  of 
the  United  States,  as  a nation  in  its  relation  with  foreign 
powers,  etc.,  and  is  controlled  by  the  President  and  Congress, 
each  State  having  again  its  own  Government  and  laws  called 
the  State  Government.  Afterwards  during  the  war,  the 
Northerners  were  called  the  ‘‘  Federals,”  and  the  Southerners, 
were  called  the  “ Confederates.” 


CHAPTER  YIL 


PREPARATIONS  TO  ORGANISE  AN  ARMY— AFFAIRS  BECOME  SERIOUS— SHAMEFUL 
inaction' OP  THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT— SECESSIOI^  UNOPPOSED  GAINS 
STRENGTH  — THE  PEOPLE,  HAVING  NO  OTHER  RESOURCE,  ACCEPT  THE 
SITUATION— OFFICE  HUNTING — DEPRESSION  OF  BUSINESS — AN  INTERVIEW 
WITH  GOVERNOR  MOORE. 

The  Washington  artillery  volunteers,  having  done  the  part 
they  were  called  upon  to  do,  returned  to  New  Orleans.  The 
local  volunteer  companies  were  sullen  and  disaffected.  The 
garrison  and  arsenal,  with  all  the  large  stores  of  ordnance, 
small  arms,  and  ammunition,  having  been  taken  possession  of 
by  the  State  Government,  were  still  unguarded.  The  State 
Government  had  a war  department  on  paper,  with  plenty  of 
officials,  but  they  had  neither  troops  nor  commissariat.  It  now 
became  necessary  to  adopt  some  means  to  garrison  and  guard 
the  place.  A movement  was  set  on  foot  to  raise  a force  by 
enlistment,  to  constitute  the  regular  army  of  Louisiana,  and 
great  inducements  were  held  out  to  men  to  enlist ; first,  a 
provisional  force  for  three  months,  then  for  longer  periods — 
one  year,  and  three  years.  As  all  trade  and  business  was 
about  a stand-still,  there  was  abundance  of  idlers  and  unem- 
ployed, and  a body  of  recruits  was  soon  raised  and  stationed 
in  the  garrison. 

In  the  meantime  people  began  to  look  upon  the  state  of 
matters  more  seriously.  The  passing  of  the  formal  act  of 
secession,  and  the  declaration  of  the  independence  of  the  State, 
was  regarded  by  many  as  a mere  piece  of  political  bounce, 
carried  out  with  the  view  of  compelling  from  the  Federal 
Government  some  guarantee  against  any  encroachment  on 
what  they  termed  Southern  rights.  But  the  seizure  of  the 
United  States  arsenal,  and  driving  the  United  States  troops 
from  the  State,  was  considered  a high-handed  act,  which  they 
expected  the  Federal  Government  would  immediately  resent; 
and  many  and  various  reports  were  whispered  of  immediate 
action  to  be  taken  by  the  Federal  Executive,  and  that  large 
forces  of  Federal  troops  were  on  the  way  to  retake  and  hold 
possession  of  the  garrison  and  arsenal, 

p 


82 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


This  at  least  could  have  been  very  easily  effected.  The 
garrison  and  arsenal  stood  on  a level  plateau  about  40  feet 
above  the  level  of,  and  bordering  on,  the  Mississippi  river. 
They  stood  on  a plain  field  without  any  kind  of  defensive 
works,  and  could  have  been  completely  swept  by  the  fire  from 
a vessel  on  the  river.  The  Mississippi  river,  which  bounded 
the  garrison  on  one  side,  was  navigable  for  the  largest  ships  in 
the  United  States  navy,  and  the  forts  near  the  mouth  of  the 
river  were  not  yet  in  a condition  for  defence,  while  it  was 
perfectly  open  to  an  approach  from  above.  And  so  completely 
did  this  great  river  form  the  main  highway  and  artery  through- 
out the  South,  that  had  the  Federal  Government  acted  promptly 
and  sent  up  the  river  one  or  two  of  their  small  steam  frigates, 
and  if  at  the  same  time  one  or  two  armed  transports  with 
500  troops  had  been  sent  down  from  above,  the  garrison  and 
arsenal  would  have  been  re-occupied  without  resistance,  while 
a couple  of  gunboats  stationed  on  the  Mississippi  would  have 
crushed  secession  in  the  bud. 

There  would  no  doubt  have  been  a howl  of  indignation  from 
blatant  politicians  about  coercion,  violated  rights,  and  suppres- 
sion of  the  freedom  of  the  people  by  force  of  arms. 

But  a very  large  proportion  of  the  people — I believQ  a con- 
siderable majority  of  them  whose  freedom  was  suppressed  by 
a less  legitimate  power — would  have  approved  of  the  action  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  would  have  hailed  with  gladness 
some  appearance  of  a sovereign  power,  and  felt  a sense  of 
security,  and  realized  that  they  were  living  under  a govern- 
ment that  would  enforce  the  laws,  and  protect  the  true  liber- 
ties of  the  people.  For,  even  allowing  the  right  of  the  State 
to  secede  from  the  Union  to  be  admitted,  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment was  bound  by  the  constitution  to  provide  in  each  State 
a Republican  form  of  Government,  and  it  was  considered  their 
duty  in  such  a question  to  see  that  the  will  of  the  people  was 
freely  and  clearly  expressed. 

In  any  case  the  Federal  Government  would  have  been  justi- 
fied in  resenting  what  might  be  called  an  outrage,  and  in 
immediately  enforcing  the  restitution  of  the  forts,  arsenals, 
arms,  and  property.  Had  this  been  done,  secession  could 
have  made  no  headway. 

“ The  precious  hour  was  passed  in  vain.” 

The  Federal  Government  took  no  action.  The  loyal  portion 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


83 


of  the  population  who  had  been  waiting  in  breathless  suspense 
to  see  what  action  would  be  taken,  were  now  disheartened, 
while  the  secession  party  increased  in  numbers,  and  became 
more  arrogant  and  noisy. 

The  question  now  asked  among  the  loyal  and  law-abiding 
people  was,  whether  the  proceedings  were  constitutional  and 
lawful,  and  if  the  Federal  Government  recognized  the  right  of 
the  State  to  secede.  The  question  had  to  be  answered  by 
the  action  they  took.  Had  the  Federal  Government  repudi- 
ated the  right  of  secession,  followed  up  Major  Anderson’s 
movement,  sent  a war  vessel  into  Charleston  harbour  before 
the  Secessionists  had  time  to  mount  a gun,  and  supported 
Major  Anderson  in  Fort  Sumter,  secession  would  have  been 
checked  where  it  begun  and  gone  no  further.  It  could  not 
have  been  called  an  excessive  warlike  demonstration,  as  it 
would  only  have  been  a movement  in  the  army  and  navy, 
such  as  is  often  done  in  ordinary  times  of  peace.  It  was 
therefore  considered  obvious  that  they  did  not  consider  it 
politic  to  make  any  such  movement.  They  had  before  them 
an  easy  and  simple  method  of  checking  secession  if  they  had 
considered  it  unconstitutional  and  unlawful.  As  they  did 
not  do  so,  it  was  to  be  supposed  that  they  recognized  the 
action  as  legal. 

Such  were  the  comments  at  the  time  among  many  respect- 
able Southern  people ; many  regretted  and  disapproved  of  the 
action,  and  what  appeared  to  be  the  decision  of  the  Federal 
Government.  But  as  the  party  in  power  was  the  party  that 
had  almost  unremittingly  governed  the  United  States  for  fifty 
years,  their  authority  was  considered  valid,  and  very  many  of 
the  Southern  people  accepted  very  reluctantly  the  situation, 
and  gave  in  their  adherence  to  the  new  Government. 

Could  these  people  be  blamed  for  thus  acting,  and  could 
they  afterwards  be  blamed  for  showing  a determination  to 
resist  an  attempt  by  the  same  central  Government  admini- 
stered by  a man  of  different  opinions  to  chastise  them  for  act- 
ing as  they  did. 

There  has  been  various  reasons  assigned  for  this  inaction  or 
supposed  connivance  of  the  Federal  Government.  But  I think 
the  most  probable  reason  was  that  the  Democratic  Govern- 
ment then  in  office,  seeing  that  their  power  was  overthrown 
in  the  election  of  a president  by  their  opponents,  and  saw  also 
that,  although  Mr.  Lincoln  had  got  a majority  of  the  elec- 


84 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


toral  votes,  he  was  still  very  much  in  the  minority  by  the 
popular  vote.  That  is,  throughout  the  United  States  there 
were  more  individual  votes  against  him  than  for  him,  although 
by  the-  electoral  college  system  he  had  obtained  a majority  by 
states. 

They,  therefore,  as  is  too  often  done  in  popular  Governments, 
cast  aside  honour  and  duty,  to  favour,  as  they  thought,  the 
source  from  which  would  come  the  largest  number  of  votes. 

All  business,  except  political  business,  or  what  was  con- 
nected with  the  State  Government,  was  now  nearly  at  a 
stand-still. 

The  State  now  being  out  of  the  Union,  and  declared  an 
independent  power,  there  was  great  confusion  and  alteration 
in  the  departments  — creation  of  offices,  and,  of  course,  a 
great  rush  and  struggle  among  office-seekers  to  obtain  lucra- 
tive appointments  under  the  new  regime. 

In  the  commercial  and  ordinary  business  circles  money  had 
become  exceedingly  scarce,  credit  was  about  stopped,  creditors 
sought  payment,  debtors  were  unable  to  pay. 

It  happened  about  this  time  that  our  firm  had  a pretty 
large  account  against  the  State  of  Louisiana  for  work  done 
for  the  different  engineering  departments ; also  against  the 
United  States  for  work  for  the  Ordnance  Department,  and 
whose  liabilities  the  State  had  assumed.  And,  though  tho 
State  accounts,  and  the  United  States  accounts,  had  always 
been  considered  as  the  best  and  surest  class,  still,  after  the 
events  that  had  taken  place,  and  the  uncertainty  of  what 
might  follow,  and  the  fearful  drain  upon  the  State  treasury, 
it  was  thought  advisable,  if  possible,  to  secure  payment  before 
matters  became  more  deeply  embroiled.  We  well  knew  that 
the  heads  of  departments — such  as  Engineer  Department, 
Auditor  and  Treasury  Departments — through  which  we  had 
formerly  to  get  our  accounts  settled  were  undergoing  changes, 
and  certain  to  be  in  confusion;  and  as  each  would  have  their 
own  friends  to  serve,  it  would  be  almost  useless  at  the  time  to 
think  of  getting  a settlement  through  them  in  the  usual  way. 
It  was  therefore  thought  best  under  the  circumstances  to  see 
the  Governor  direct  on  the  subject. 

The  Governor,  who  had  only  been  about  a year  in  office, 
was  a planter  on  Red  river,  and  with  whom,  in  his  private 
capacity,  we  had  formerly  done  a good  deal  of  business,  and 
whom  we  always  found  to  be  a just  and  honourable  man.  I 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


85 


accordingly  sought  for  a favourable  opportunity  to  have  an 
interview  with  him,  and  obtained  it. 

Governor  Moore  was  a tall  spare  man  between  fifty  and 
sixty  years  of  age,  of  a quiet,  unobtrusive  manner,  and  of 
rather  a kindly  and  homely  disposition,  and  very  difierent 
from  the  fiery  spirits  that  surrounded  him.  He  seemed  very 
careworn,  and  was  evidently  impressed  with  great  anxiety 
with  the  responsibility  of  the  act  which  he  had  taken,  or 
rather  which  had  been  forced  upon  him.  He  received  me 
very  courteously,  and  when  I had  stated  my  business  and 
explained  the  difficulty  of  the  position,  he  examined  the 
accounts,  and,  having  satisfied  himself  that  they  were  just  and 
correct,  he  subscribed  his  approval  on  them,  recommending 
that  the  accounts  might  be  settled  without  going  through  the 
usual  formalities  in  the  then  disorganised  state  of  the  depart- 
ments. 

Having  done  this,  he  motioned  me  to  sit  down  if  I had  no 
pressing  business  to  call  me  away.  I think  that,  satiated  with 
politics,  he  wanted  to  have  a little  respite  from  the  worry  he 
was  enduring  in  the  political  turmoil,  and  the  constant  impor- 
tuning of  office  seekers,  and  while  he  was  reported  “ engaged,’’ 
could  have  a little  rest,  and  have  his  mind  refreshed  by  a 
change  of  subject,  and  a talk  on  matters  more  congenial  to  his 
home  tastes  and  non-official  business. 

He  now  entered  into  a long  conversation  on  rural  sub- 
jects, and  engineering  in  all  its  branches,  sugar  and  cotton 
machinery,  sawmills,  steamboats,  his  own  works,  river 
overflows  and  embankments,  swamp  draining,  piling,  rail- 
roads, bridges,  canals,  timber,  the  difierent  qualities  of 
wood  produced  in  the  State,  and  their  capabilities  for  difierent 
purposes. 

He  seemed  to  enjoy  the  conversation,  and  to  feel  as  if  in  a 
change  of  atmosphere,  and  showed  no  disposition  to  terminate 
it,  whilst  I must  confess  I could  not  help  enjoying  a chuckle 
at  the  impatience  which  would  be  felt  by  the  expectant  office 
seekers  who,  I knew,  were  sitting  in  rows  in  the  adjoining 
rooms,  each  with  his  credentials  for  services  rendered,  and 
letters  of  recommendation  to  the  Governor,  waiting  his  turn 
for  an  audience. 

After  sitting  for  upwards  of  an  hour,  a peculiar  knock  at 
the  door  seemed  to  be  a signal  quite  understood  by  the 
Governor,  for  he  promptly  called  out — “ Come  in.  Major.” 


86 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  door  opened,  and  in  walked  Major  H.,  Secretary  of 
State. 

It  must  be  here  observed  that  the  term  of  major,  colonel, 
or  general,  or  judge,  so  often  applied  to  many  in  the  South, 
was  purely  honorary  or  self-imposed,  without  any  claim  or 
origin  whatever  beyond  courtesy ; the  term  major,  however, 
was  regarded  with  a little  more  respect  than  the  others.  The 
higher  ranked  titles  of  colonel  and  general  had  been  adopted 
by  so  many  that  they  had  become  common  and  vulgar. 

Major  H.  was  in  appearance  and  manner  the  very  reverse 
of  Governor  Moore.  He  was  a stout  man,  of  ruddy  com- 
plexion, with  an  open  jocund  countenance,  and  the  plump 
jovial  expression  of  his  face  indicated  that  he  took  matters 
easily,  and  certainly  did  not  neglect  the  wants  of  his  body 
as  far  as  meat  and  drink  were  concerned.  Major  H.  was 
a well-known  and  exceedingly  popular  man,  possessed  of  great 
tact  and  considerable  talent.  He  had  for  a long  time  held  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  though  many  had  tried  to 
oust  him  at  the  periodical  elections,  he  still  held  his  office 
against  all  competitors.  He  was  an  able  stump  orator,  could 
tickle  an  audience,  and  ridicule  an  opponent,  and  always 
managed  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  poll.  He  had  the  peculiar 
ability  of  being  “ Hey  fellow,  well  met,^’  with  everyone,  with- 
out making  himself  too  cheap,  and  always  commanded  respect. 

On  his  entering  I made  a motion  of  rising  to  leave,  but  he 
tapped  me  familiarly  on  the  shoulder,  saying,  ‘‘Oh  ! it  is  you, 
W. ; sit  still.” 

He  handed  to  the  Governor  some  papers,  and  what  I took 
to  be  an  extract  from  a newspaper,  which  the  Governor  read 
over  carefully,  and  looked  thoughtfully  for  a moment,  while 
the  Major  gave  a sort  of  derisive  laugh,  saying,  “ Well,  what 
do  you  think  of  that.  Governor  ? ” The  Governor  replied  in  a 
more  serious  tone,  “ Well,  I suppose  it  matters  little ; the 
thing  is  done  now,  and  they  must  just  accept  it.” 

The  Major,  seeming  not  to  wish  further  talk  on  that  subject, 
turned  round  to  me  and  said  in  a jocose  manner,  “ Well,  W., 
how  do  things  get  along  in  your  line  of  business?”  “Very 
depressed  indeed.  Major,”  said  I.  “ O that  will  be  only  for 
a short  time ; but  you  will  see  before  long  that  business  will 
be  better  than  ever.  What  do  you  think  of  this  movement  ? ” 
“O  you  know.  Major,”  said  I,  “that  I am  a regular  John 
Bull,  and  take  nothing  to  do  with  politics  ! ” “ John  Bull  or 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


87 


no  John  Bull,  you  take  our  money  all  the  same.”  “ O yes  ! ” 
said  I laughing,  “ I take  as  much  of  that  as  I can  get,  but 
just  in  the  same  way  as  you  take  John  Bulbs  money  for  your 
cotton.” 

‘‘  That  is  so,  Mr.  W.,”  said  the  Governor,  ‘‘  but  you  get 
the  full  amount  for  your  services,  but  look  at  what  we  in  the 
South  get  for  our  cotton,  a mere  remnant  of  its  value  by  our 
trade  being  hampered  by  having  to  pass  through  Northern 
agencies.” 

“ But  that  is  no  fault  of  John  Bull,”  said  I. 

‘‘  O certainly  not,”  said  the  Governor,  ‘‘  there  are  worse 
men  than  John  Bull  with  all  his  faults.” 

“Who  do  you  mean.  Governor,”  chuckled  the  Major,  “is  it 
the  Yankees  ? ” 

“ I mean,”  said  the  Governor,  “ those  Northern  capitalists 
who  command  our  trade,  and  manage  to  control  legislation  to 
suit  their  purposes.” 

“ But  you  are  not  in  that  position  yourself.  Governor,”  said 
the  Major,  “ you  are  not  in  the  power  of  any  Northern 
capitalist.” 

“Not  directly,”  said  the  Governor.  “ I am  not  personally 
like  many  others  in  the  power  of  any  Northern  capitalist. 
But  then  all  suffer  indirectly.  Only  the  other  day  I got  a 
consignment  of  hardware  from  England,  it  had  to  come  through 
a Northern  agency,  and  the  charges  over  and  above  the  freight 
and  duties  amounted  to  about  30  per  cent,  on  the  invoice.” 

“Well  we  have  got  rid  of  all  that  now,”  said  the  Major  in 
a congratulating  tone. 

The  Governor  seemed  to  muse  on  the  subject,  but  said 
nothing. 

It  was  now  evident  that  there  was  a crowd  outside  waiting 
for  an  audience,  so  I rose  and  took  my  leave. 

From  this  interview  simple  as  it  was,  I could  see  that  the 
Governor,  who  was  not  a great  politician,  but  a man  of  con- 
siderable standing  in  the  State,  had  no  great  heart  in  the 
movement,  but  was  altogether  overruled  and  goaded  on  by 
those  around  him,  and  had  to  go  with  the  political  current. 

But  I could  see  that  he  had  a strong  sense  of  the  position 
in  which  the  South  stood  with  the  North  in  regard  to  trade, 
and  it  was  no  doubt  a little  irritating.  The  Southern  planters 
were  the  real  producers  of  the  country.  They  were  enduring 
the  toils  and  privations  of  a backwoods  life.  They  were 


88 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


bearing  the  odium  of  being  slaveholders.  The  North  was 
pocketing  the  lion’s  share  of  their  labours,  living  in  ease  and 
luxury,  and  maintaining  an  exterior  of  virtue  and  sanctity, 
and  it  did  seem  like  adding  insult  to  injury  that  they  should 
stigmatise  the  Southern  people  as  slavemasters,  nigger 
drivers,  etc. 

I heard  it  very  often  said  in  the  South  at  that  time,  that 
the  1000  dollars  paid  for  a pew  in  Beecher’s  church,  and  the 
1000  dollar  dresses  which  adorned  the  godly  dames  who 
occupied  them,  were  often  derived  in  a pretty  direct  way  from 
the  products  of  the  Southern  planter  with  all  the  horrors  of 
slavery  upon  it,  which  they  had  come  there  to  denounce. 
How  far  these  assertions  may  have  been  correct,  or  how  far 
they  may  have  been  applicable  to  the  question,  I do  not  pre- 
tend to  say,  but  I often  heard  them  expressed ; and  I did 
know  of  similar  instances  which  came  pretty  direct.  And 
although  I could  see  nothing  to  justify  the  secession  move- 
ment, still  the  remarks  of  the  Governor  reminded  me  that  a 
question  may  be  looked  at  from  many  points  of  view.  And 
it  was  questionable  if  the  Northern  Abolitionists  came  into 
court  with  clean  hands. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


PRECAUTION  AGAINST  ENEMIES  FROM  WITHOUT— PRECAUTION  AGAINST  DIS- 
AFFECTION WITHIN — RESULT  OF  THE  GENERAL  PLEBISCITE  THROUGHOUT 
THE  SOUTH-  CONVENTION  OF  THE  SIX  STATES — FORMATION  OF  A CON- 
FEDERACY— DEFIANT  ATTITUDE  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS — WARLIKE  PRE- 
PARATIONS— ENTHUSIASM — CARRIED  BY  A COUP  DE  MAIN — SURMISES  AS 
TO  LINCOLN’S  POLICY— HIS  SUPPOSED  WISEST  POLICY— HOPES  OF  A 
PEACEFUL  SEPARATION. 

One  of  the  first  steps  taken  by  the  new  Government  was  the 
organisation  of  the  War  Department.  A Secretary  for  War 
had  been  appointed,  and  there  was  abundance  of  officers,  and 
a considerable  number  of  recruits  had  been  enlisted,  and  were 
undergoing  drill  in  the  garrison. 

A party  of  professed  engineers  were  employed  making  sur- 
veys round  the  garrison,  and  preparing  plans  with  a view  to 
throwing  up  works  on  the  side  next  the  river,  and  forming 
the  garrison  into  a place  of  defence. 

These  works,  however,  were  not  carried  out  to  any  great 
extent,  but  the  proposals  and  preliminaries  with  the  attendant 
expenditure,  if  they  did  not  serve  to  repel  enemies,  might  at 
least  have  been  the  means  of  creating  friends. 

A good  many  of  the  official  appointments  in  this  branch  of 
the  service  were  given  to  Germans,  who  were  known  to  exer- 
cise considerable  influence  over  their  fellow-countrymen  among 
the  labouring  and  other  classes.  The  latter,  though  citizens, 
and  forming  a considerable  part  of  the  population,  had  not 
hitherto  shown  any  marked  zeal  in  the  secession  movement. 

A similar  policy  was  adopted  throughout  the  Government 
Department  in  general.  Offices,  both  civil  and  military,  were 
offered  to  such  men  as  were  known  to  possess  influence  over 
the  public  mind,  or  were  capable  of  swaying  the  minds  of  any 
particular  class  of  the  population,  and  every  means  was  devised 
to  make  the  new  Government  popular. 

Explanations,  apologies,  and  flatteries,  were  applied  to  win 
back  the  disaffected  volunteers. 

These  devices  all  tended  more  or  less  to  strengthen  the  new 
Government,  and  as  there  was  no  appearance  of  any  interfer- 


90 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


ence  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  Government,  more  of 
the  people  began  to  acquiesce  in  the  new  order  of  things. 

The  Government  was  now  called  the  Republic  of  Louisiana. 
The  other  States  which  had  seceded  had  also  declared  them- 
selves Independent  Republics,  each  regarding  the  other  and 
the  United  States  as  foreign  powers. 

About  the  end  of  January,  1861,  the  result  of  the  general 
plebiscite  throughout  the  South  had  become  known,  and 
although  different  accounts  had  been  circulated,  the  fact  had 
now  to  be  admitted  that  only  six  States  had  decided  on  seces- 
sion. These  were — South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Louisiana. 

Early  in  February,  1861,  and  shortly  after  the  result  of  the 
general  plebiscite  throughout  the  South  had  become  known,  a 
convention  of  the  six  States  was  held  at  Montgomerie,  Ala- 
bama, and  the  old  days  of  1776  were  again  re-enacted.  A 
Federal  Constitution  was  drawn  out  after  the  form  of  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  a Government  formed 
to  be  called  the  Confederate  States  of  America.  Mr.  Jefferson 
Davis  of  Mississippi,  a man  supposed  to  be  possessed  of  great 
talent  and  strength  of  mind,  was  appointed  President,  jyro  tem.^ 
and  Mr.  Alexander  Stephens  of  Georgia,  a man  also  of  great 
talent,  and  of  somewhat  milder  views,  was  appointed  Vice- 
President. 

These  appointments  were  regarded  as  a sort  of  compromise 
to  meet  the  views  of  both  parties  who  had  been  in  the  Southern 
States  at  the  time  of  Lincoln’s  election,  Jefferson  Da. vis  being 
to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  rabid  secession  Democrats  who  sup- 
ported Mr.  Breckenridge,  and  Mr.  Stephens  to  please  the  Union 
and  Constitutional  party  who  supported  Mr.  Bell. 

Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  signalised  his  inauguration  by  an 
inflammatory  address,  the  violent  and  extravagant  pro-slavery 
bounce  of  which  did  not  add  much  to  his  general  popularity. 

Having  established  a Government,  formed  a cabinet,  and 
appointed  the  heads  of  departments,  they  proceeded'  with  great 
vigour  to  make  preparations  for  defence  by  organising  an 
army,  and  strengthening  and  garrisoning  the  forts. 

The  newly-fledged  Government  grew  stronger  every  day. 
Departments  were  more  fully  organised,  recruiting  was  pushed, 
the  army  was  increasing,  the  forts  were  being  strengthened, 
armed,  and  garrisoned.  In  the  garrison  at  Baton  Rouge,  bands 
of  recruits  were  being  drilled  and  sent  off  to  garrison  the 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


91 


different  forts,  while  in  the  Ordnance  Department  the  greatest 
activity  prevailed  in  getting  gun-carriages  completed,  field 
pieces  mounted,  and  caissons  fitted  up  ready  for  use.  Navy 
guns  with  their  equipments  were  sent  ofi*  to  the  different  forts, 
while  the  road  from  the  arsenal  to  the  steamboat  wharf  on  the 
river  was  cut  up  so  as  to  be  almost  impassable  with  the  cart- 
ing of  shot  and  shell  which  was  being  shipped  to  the  forts  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  along  the  coasts  of  Missis- 
sippi, Alabama,  and  Florida. 

Meanwhile  every  possible  means  was  adopted  to  rouse  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people,  and  win  over  the  disaffected  portion 
of  the  population,  and  make  the  new  Government  popular. 

A flag  bearing  three  bars  of  red,  white,  and  red  horizontally, 
with  a galaxy  of  six  stars  on  a blue  ground  in  the  upper 
corner,  had  been  adopted  as  the  national  flag  of  the  Confeder- 
ate States.  This  flag  was  floated  over  all  the  public  buildings, 
displayed  from  windows,  and  paraded  on  the  streets  with 
bands  playing  patriotic  airs  got  up  to  suit  the  occasion.  Every 
steamboat  calling  at  the  landing  place,  or  passing  on  the  river, 
streamed  with  Confederate  flags,  and  resounded  with  “ Dixie’s 
Land.”  This  was  done  even  by  steamers  from  Northern  cities, 
though  it  may  be  doubtful  whether  they  did  not  as  soon  as 
they  got  out  of  reach  and  hearing,  change  their  tune  to 
“ Yankee  Doodle.” 

Enthusiasm  seemed  to  be  carried  by  a coup  de  main, 
females  and  children  joining  largely  in  it.  Any  attempt  at 
remonstrance  dared  not  now  be  uttered,  and  all  misgiving 
expressions  w’ere  drowned  in  the  apparent  hilarity  and  enthu- 
siasm. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  outward  show  of  enthusiasm, 
confidence  was  not  by  any  means  restored  in  private  life  or 
business  circles. 

It  was  now  fully  three  months  since  the  secession  movement 
had  begun,  and  it  was  evident  that  Buchanan’s  Government 
had  to  all  intents  and  purposes  acknowledged  the  rights  of 
the  States  to  secede,  and  meant  to  take  no  action.  President 
Buchanan  going  out  of  office  seemed  either  to  acquiesce  in  the 
views  of  the  secessionists,  or  wished  to  take  no  part  in  the 
matter,  but  leave  the  responsibility  to  his  successor.  In  act- 
ing thus  he  by  his  delay  rendered  what  might  have  been 
accomplished  with  a few  hundred  men  and  one  or  two  ships  of 
war  without  a drop  of  bloodshed  a Herculean  task,  which 


92 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


could  not  now  in  any  case  be  accomplished  without  an  untold 
expense,  and  the  sacrifice  of  thousands  of  lives. 

The  uncertainty  of  what  policy  might  be  adopted  by  Mr. 
Lincoln,  when  he  came  into  office  on  the  4th  of  March,  kept 
minds  in  constant  suspense. 

As  to  what  Mr.  Lincoln’s  policy  might  be  there  was  nothing 
to  indicate,  and  it  was  the  subject  of  much  speculation  among 
the  bulk  of  the  people  within  the  seceded  States. 

No  one  thought  that  he  would  adopt  a coercive  policy ; it 
was  now  too  late  for  that. 

It  had  been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Buchanan  in  his  message  to 
Congress,  that  the  executive  of  the  United  States  had  really 
no  power  under  the  constitution  to  coerce  sovereign  States. 

The  States  had  seceded  separately  from  the  Union,  each 
remaining  for  a time  a separate  and  independent  Government, 
and  afterwards  formed  themselves  into  a Confederacy,  and  all 
without  any  protest  or  hindrance  on  the  part  of  the  Federal 
Government.  They  had  the  sympathy  of  the  Middle  States, 
and  also  of  a large  number  of  the  Northern  Democrats.  They 
were  now  well  organised  and  had  become  powerful,  and  the 
President  could  not  but  see  that  any  attempt  at  coercion 
would  lead  to  further  secession,  and  meet  with  the  most  deter- 
mined resistance,  and  must  result  in  civil  war  and  bloodshed. 

The  seceded  States  had  sent  commissioners  to  Washington 
to  make  arrangements  for  the  transfer  and  payment  of  the 
forts,  arsenals,  and  other  United  States  property  v/ithin  the 
seceded  States,  which  had  been  seized  by  the  State  volunteer 
forces,  and  also  for  the  evacuation  by  the  Federal  troops  of  Fort 
Sumter  in  Charleston  harbour,  and  Fort  Pickens  in  Florida. 

These  commissioners  had  been  received  at  Washington,  each 
party  expressing  a desire  for  a peaceful  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty, but  the  negotiations  made  very  little  progress. 

This,  however,  had  allayed  to  some  extent  the  apprehensions 
of  the  people  within  the  seceded  States.  They  now  considered 
that  secession,  for  the  time  at  least,  was  a foregone  conclusion, 
and  would  not  now  be  undone ; and  it  was  hoped  that  by  a 
little  forbearance  on  both  sides  the  whole  thing  would  be 
peaceably  arranged  and  war  averted. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  was  still  during 
Mr.  Buchanan’s  administration  ; and  all  now  awaited  with 
breathless  anxiety  the  announcement  of  Lincoln’s  policy,  as  on 
that  hinged  the  question  of  peace  or  war. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


93 


The  generally  accepted  opinion  of  the  greater  portion  of  the 
people  within  the  seceded  States  and  outwith  the  political 
circle  was,  that  Lincolti  on  taking  ofiSice  would  recognise  the 
defect  in  the  Federal  constitution.  The  late  administration 
and  Congress  had  considered  they  had  no  power  under  the 
constitution  to  prevent  the  States  seceding  or  to  coerce  them 
back  into  the  Union.  That,  although  not  altogether  acquiescing 
in  these  views  he  would  still  have  before  him  the  broad 
principle  that  the  foundation  of  the  United  States  government 
was  based  upon  revolution.  That  it  came  into  existence 
through  revolution.  That  revolution  was  embodied  in  its 
principles,  and  that  it  would  be  unprecedented  and  unconsti- 
tutional as  well  as  a difficult  and  dangerous  matter  to  make 
any  attempt  at  coercion  without  some  special  and  lucid 
provision  being  made  for  it  in  the  Federal  constitution.  That 
those  six  States  had  now  become  fully  organised  and  powerful, 
and  any  attempt  to  coerce  them  would  lead  to  much  bloodshed 
and  most  likely  to  a further  breach  in  the  Union;  and  while 
as  yet  only  six  States  had  seceded  instead  of  the  whole  South, 
as  had  been  anticipated,  he  would  let  them  go  in  peace,  accept- 
ing an  indemnity  (which  they  were  willing  to  give)  for  forts  and 
other  United  States’  property  within  the  seceded  territory. 

With  six  States  gone,  and  their  representatives  no  longer  in 
Congress,  the  President’s  party  would  be  greatly  strengthened. 
He  would  now  be  able  to  command  a majority  sufficient  to 
enable  him  to  amend  the  Federal  constitution  in  respect  to 
the  right  of  States  to  secede,  and  also  be  able  to  deal  with  the 
question  of  slavery. 

The  slave  States  which  still  remained  in  the  Union  would 
be  so  much  in  a minority  that  they  could  no  longer  hold  any 
sway  in  Congress  on  the  slave  question.  In  some  of  these 
States  slavery  had  become  nearly  extinct;  in  most  of  them  it  was 
becoming  less  popular,  and  in  a short  time  it  would  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote  be  abolished  entirely  in  the  United  States. 

The  loss  of  the  six  States  which  had  seceded  and  been 
formed  into  a separate  Confederacy  would,  on  the  whole,  have 
been  no  great  price  to  pay  for  the  peaceful  and  advantageous 
settlement  of  a question  which  had  for  years  convulsed  and 
divided  the  Union,  and  had  kept  it  in  a constant  state  of 
turmoil  almost  threatening  its  destruction.  These  views  were 
particularly  plausible  when  considering  the  enormous  territories 
still  at  the  command  of  the  United  States  vraiting  to  be  settled  up. 


94 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Besides  this,  the  isolation  might  be  only  temporary,  as  the 
six  States  would  find  themselves  almost  alone  in  maintaining 
their  peculiar  institution  in  the  face  of  the  civilised  world. 
They  would  be  surrounded  and  hemmed  in  by  the  free  States 
of  the  more  powerful  Union,  and  they  would  have  no  fugitive 
slave  law  to  protect  their  institution.  The  largest  portion 
of  the  population  being  non-slaveholders,  their  sympathies 
would  be  with  the  old  Union  of  which  many  of  them  were 
natives,  and  they  were  bound  to  it  by  strong  ties  of  traditional 
attachment.  . In  short,  there  was  a great  probability  of  these 
States  again  seeking  admission  severally  back  into  the  United 
States. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  the  United  States  government 
being  based  on  revolution,  the  Confederate  States  on  the  same 
principle  maintained  their  right  to  secede  severally  and  form 
a separate  government. 

Upon  this  admitted  principle  it  was  open  for  any  of  the 
Confederate  States  to  secede  from  the  Confederacy  by  a vote 
of  the  majority  of  the  population  and  declare  itself  an 
independent  State,  and  then  apply  for  admission  back  into  the 
old  Union,  under  an  amended  constitution,  having  no  longer 
the  right  or  power  to  secede. 

Thus  in  the  end  it  might  lead  to  a judicious  plan  of  amend- 
ing the  constitution,  abolishing  slavery,  and  establishing  the 
central  government  on  a firmer  basis  than  ever. 

Whether  with  this  view  it  would  have  been  wise  or  practi- 
cable to  have  adopted  such  a policy,  or  whether  Mr.  Lincoln 
ever  thought  of  such  a policy,  I do  not  pretend  to  know.  It 
was  talked  of,  and  seemed  to  most  sober  thinking  men  in  the 
South,  as  not  only  the  wisest  but  the  only  constitutional 
course  left  open  for  him  to  pursue.  It  was  further  the  con- 
ceded opinion  of  many  able  men  both  North  and  South,  when 
they  found  that  so  few  States  had  seceded  that  the  wisest  plan 
would  be  to  let  the  rebellious  States  go  in  peace,  and  proceed 
to  amend  the  constitution,  and  conserve  the  integrity  of  the 
Union  in  the  States. 

The  hope  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  adopt  this  course  got  to 
be  strongly  entertained  among  the  moderate  party  in  the 
seceded  States  after  it  became  known  that  the  majority  of  the 
Southern  States  had  decided  to  remain  in  the  Union,  and  the 
fear  of  war  was  allayed,  and  confidence  was  in  some  degree 
restored. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


INAUGURATION  OF  LINCOLN— HIS  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS— GENERAL  DISAP- 
POINTMENT-NEWSPAPER COMMENTS  ON  THE  ADDRESS— HIS  WANT  OF 
DECISION  OR  POLICY — APPOINTMENT  OF  MR.  SEWARD  AS  SECRETARY  OF 
STATE — MR.  SEWARD’S  KNOWN  ATTITUDE  TOWARDS  THE  SOUTH — GRAVE 
APPREHENSIONS— SUPPOSED  SHUFFLING  OF  MR.  SEWARD,  AND  ATTEMPTS 
TO  PROVOKE  THE  SOUTH  INTO  WAR— CRITICAL  POSITION  AT  CHARLESTON. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this  time  Mr.  Lincoln,  the 
President-elect,  had  given  no  indication  of  what  his  policy 
would  be.  Several  reports  of  interviews,  or  pretended  inter- 
views, had  been  published  in  the  Confederate  newspapers,  but 
these  interviews  (if  ever  they  took  place)  showed  nothing 
in  particular. 

In  fact,  the  pro-secession  journals  did  not  portray  the  new 
President  in  any  favourable  light.  Their  object  seemed  to  be 
to  prejudice  the  minds  of  the  Southern  people  against  him. 

At  length  the  time  came  for  his  inauguration,  and  it  was 
reported  with  great  gusto  by  the  Confederate  newspapers  that 
such  was  his  unpopularity  that  when  on  his  way  to  Washington 
he  had  to  pass  through  the  city  of  Baltimore  clandestinely, 
sitting  in  a farmer’s  waggonette  disguised  in  a Scotch  bonnet 
and  plaid. 

Whether  there  was  any  truth  in  this  I do  not  know,  but 
when  his  inaugural  address  came  to  be  published  it  was 
certainly  disappointing  to  the  moderate  party,  not  only  in  the 
Confederate  States  but  throughout  the  whole  of  the  South  in 
general,  which  had  been  expecting  to  find  in  Mr.  Lincoln  a 
man  whose  wisdom  and  sagacity  would  have  been  equal  to  the 
occasion.  The  speech  contained  a great  deal  of  meaningless 
rhetoric.  He  repudiated  the  abolition  doctrine,  and  distinctly 
avowed  that  he  had  neither  the  wish  nor  the  intention  to 
interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it 
existed.  He  afiected  to  treat  lightly  the  serious  state  of 
matters,  and  in  a somewhat  silly  and  jocular  manner  congratu- 
lated his  audience  that  there  was  ‘‘  nobody  hurt.”  He 
advocated  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  declared  that 
the  constitution  must  be  enforced  at  whatever  cost.  This 


96 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


was,  of  course,  the  stereotyped  text  of  all  inaugural  addresses^ 
but  he  refrained  from  giving  his  views  on  the  meaning  of  the 
constitution,  or  what  powers  he  considered  it  embodied  in 
regard  to  secession,  or  as  to  what  policy  he  would  adopt  under 
its  provisions.  This  was  what  the  people  eagerly  desired  to 
know,  and  it  was  very  important  and  essential  at  the  moment 
having  regard  to  what  Mr.  Buchanan  had  said  in  his  message 
to  Congress.  It  was  evident  that  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  fixed 
policy  of  his  own,  and  that  he  would  in  a great  measure  be 
guided  by  his  cabinet. 

There  is  always  in  politics  a party  of  zealots  who  are  ever 
ready  to  magnify  into  greatness  every  action  or  utterance  of 
some  particular  public  man  whom  they  admire  and  support. 
In  this  case  the  Lincoln  journals  and  party  set  forth  their 
high  approval  of  the  address,  and  lauded  it  in  the  highest 
terms  as  a production  of  great  force  and  talent.  Thousands, 
I believe,  did  so  who  neither  read  nor  heard  it,  and  neither 
knew  nor  understood  anything  about  it  but  took  it  for 
granted.  It  was  not  reassuring  to  many  in  the  north  and 
South  throughout,  and  to  the  moderate  party  in  the  Confederate 
States  it  was  disappointing  and  disheartening. 

In  the  Confederate  journals  it  was  treated  in  the  most 
derisive  way,  and  described  as  a piece  of  meaningless 
buffoonery,  whilst  the  Confederate  leaders  and  political 
orators  turned  it  to  every  possible  account,  and  indulged  in 
the  most  extravagant  and  insulting  abuse  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
everything  pertaining  to  the  North ; all  this,  while  intended 
to  intensify  the  feeling  in  the  South  against  the  North,  could 
not  fail  to  alienate  much  of  the  sympathy  and  good  feeling 
which  up  till  now  was  still  entertained  by  many  in  the  North 
toward  the  South. 

For  some  time  after  Lincoln's  inauguration  he  gave  no 
indication  of  what  his  policy  would  be  in  regard  to  the 
seceded  States.  But  the  appointment  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Seward 
as  Secretary  of  State,  whose  well-known  hostility  toward  the 
South  gave  rise  to  grave  apprehensions,  and  again  rumours  of 
war  became  prevalent. 

The  representative  members  from  the  seceded  States  had 
now  all  retired  from  the  Federal  Congress  at  Washington,  and 
the  Confederate  Commissioners  who  had  been  sent  to  nego- 
tiate during  Buchanan’s  administration,  had  returned  without 
effecting  any  arrangement. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


97 


Commissioners  were  again  sent  from  Montgomerie  to  nego- 
tiate with  Lincoln’s  Government,  and  more  especially  in  the 
meantime  to  treat  for  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Sumter,  the 
holding  of  which  by  the  Federal  troops  was  considered 
dangerous  to  the  preservation  of  peace,  and  might  lead  to  a 
rupture  at  any  moment. 

These  commissioners  were  neither  received  nor  repudiated, 
but  their  hearing  put  off  from  time  to  time,  or  as  it  was  put 
before  the  people  in  the  Confederate  States,  they  were  desired 
by  Mr.  Seward  to  “ wait  a little.” 

In  the  meantime  the  suspense  among  the  general  population 
within  the  Confederate  States  became  intolerable.  A month 
had  now  passed  since  Lincoln  came  into  power,  and  yet  he  had 
taken  no  action,  nor  given  the  slightest  indication  of  what  his 
intentions  were.  Rumours  of  all  kinds  were  constantly  being 
circulated,  now  that  hostilities  had  actually  broken  out. 
“ Fighting  at  Fort  Pickens  ” — “ Fighting  at  Baltimore  ” 
— “ Fighting  at  Charleston,”  and  at  other  times  that  peace 
was  likely  to  be  preserved ; that  a joint-commission  from  all 
the  States  was  to  be  appointed  to  arrange  all  matters  in 
dispute,  and  devise  some  means  of  settlement.  Every  day 
some  new  report  was  circulated,  to  be  denied  the  next. 

It  soon  got  to  be  the  general  belief  among  all  classes  in  the 
Confederate  States — and  there  seems  to  have  been  good  grounds 
for  the  belief — that  Lincoln’s  cabinet  was  shuffling.  No  kind 
of  reply  or  statement  of  their  views,  favourable  or  unfavour- 
able, would  they  make  to  the  Confederate  commissioners.  Still 
less  favourable  was  said  to  have  been  the  reception  of  some 
representatives  of  the  loyal  or  Union  party  in  the  South,  who 
were  said  to  have  privately  requested  an  interview  with  regard 
to  their  position. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  many  quiet  but  wise  and  intelligent 
men  in  the  South,  that  although  Mr.  Lincoln  might  be  an 
honest,  upright,  and  simple  man,  and  had  no  bad  feeling  or 
intention  towards  the  South,  still  he  had  as  an  adviser  in  Mr. 
Seward,  a subtle  and  deceitful  man  possessed  of  great  ability, 
and  having  an  intense  hatred  toward  the  South. 

As  matters  had  now  become  so  critical  that  hostilities  might 
break  out  at  any  moment,  and  as  the  eyes  of  everyone  both 
North  and  South  were  watching  with  breathless  suspense  the 
impending  crisis,  and  as  the  onus  of  the  war  would  lie  on  the 
side  which  struck  the  first  blow,  Mr.  Seward’s  desire  was  to 

G 


98 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


crush  the  South  by  a war,  but  in  order  that  he  might  have  the 
popular  feeling  on  his  side,  his  object  further  was  to  make  the 
South  the  aggressor.  He  therefore  sought  to  goad  them  into 
striking  the  first  blow.  He  knew  the  feeling  this  would  pro- 
duce throughout  the  country  at  large,  that  it  would  set  the 
nation  in  a blaze  and  rouse  the  North  to  a man. 

He  knew  from  the  vain  and  arrogant  pretensions  of  the 
rabid  secessionists,  and  the  fiery  impetuosity  of  their  leaders, 
that  he  could  easily  provoke  them  into  striking  a blow,  while 
the  intemperate  swagger  and  insulting  braggadocio  of  some  of 
the  Southern  newspapers  was  fast  alienating  the  good  feeling 
which  had  hitherto  been  displayed  by  the  people  of  the  North 
in  general  towards  the  South,  and  creating  a feeling  amongst 
them  of  just  indignation  at  the  unreasonable  and  hostile 
attitude  taken  up  by  many  of  the  Southern  papers.  Thus  by 
stirring  up  a hostile  feeling  in  the  North,  and  then  provoking 
the  South  to  strike  a blow  he  would  thereby  accomplish  his 
object  and  efiectually  crush  the  South  out  of  existence,  so  that 
it  would  never  again  have  a voice  in  the  Government. 

That  those  who  entertained  such  opinions  might  have  been 
right  in  their  conjectures  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  sub- 
stantiated by  what  immediately  followed,  and  by^  many 
discussions  which  I heard  during  the  war  between  parties  of 
Northern  and  Southern  soldiers  when  opportunities  offered, 
such  as  at  truce  meetings,  or  with  prisoners  of  war,  when  the 
Southerners  asserted  that  all  they  wanted  was  to  be  let  alone, 
the  invariable  reply  was.  Who  began  the  war  ? Who  struck 
the  first  blow  ? Who  battered  the  walls  of  Fort  Sumter  ? 

It  may  be  said  that  such  arguments  were  only  the  opinions 
of  soldiers  who  knew  nothing  of  the  higher  theories  of  states- 
manship or  diplomacy ; but,  when  it  is  remembered  that  these 
men  were  intelligent  citizens,  and  it  was  from  these  opinions 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  cabinet  obtained  their  support  and 
positions,  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  use  every  device  to 
mould  public  opinion,  and  turn  it  so  as  to  enable  them  to 
carry  out  their  designs. 

Fort  Sumter,  in  South  Carolina,  was  now  the  critical  point, 
situated  as  it  was  in  the  middle  of  Charleston  harbour,  and 
occupied  by  the  Federal  troops,  and  blockaded  by  the  Con- 
federate forces. 

Fort  Sumter,  being  situated  on  an  island  near  the  centre  of 
Charleston  harbour,  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  harbour 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


99 


and  also  the  city  of  Charleston.  It  was  a strong  and  powerful 
work,  and  being  surrounded  by  water  could  only  be  approached 
by  means  of  boats. 

Fort  Moultrie  was  situated  on  a point  of  the  mainland  more 
seawards,  and  commanded  the  passage  leading  from  the  har- 
bour out  to  sea. 

When  South  Carolina  seceded  from  the  Union,  Fort  Sumter 
was  unoccupied  by  any  force,  but  Fort  Moultrie  was  occupied 
by  Major  Anderson  with  a force  of  about  80  United  States 
troops.  Major  Anderson,  seeing  that  he  could  not  hold  Fort 
Moultrie  against  the  State  troops,  should  they  approach  by 
land  and  make  a demand  on  him  to  surrender  it,  made  a 
sudden  movement  into  Fort  Sumter,  which  could  not  be 
approached  by  land. 

This  movement  irritated  the  secessionists ; they  had  not 
taken  the  precaution  to  secure  Fort  Sumter  before  it  was 
occupied  by  the  Federal  troops,  and  it  would  be  a difficult 
matter  now  to  get  the  Federal  troops  to  retire  from  Charleston 
by  a mere  display  of  force  and  without  a conflict. 

Nevertheless  the  Confederates  speedily  occupied  Fort  Moul- 
trie, and  cut  off  all  communication  with  Fort  Sumter  by  sea ; 
and,  although  it  was  known  that  Major  Anderson  had  taken 
considerable  stores  with  him  from  Fort  Moultrie,  it  was  a 
mere  question  of  time  that  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter  would 
be  starved  into  submission,  unless  the  Federal  Government 
should  force  a passage  past  Fort  Moultrie  and  relieve  it. 

In  the  meantime  the  friendly  intercourse  between  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  garrison  in  Fort  Sumter  and  the 
citizens  of  Charleston  was  not  broken.  They  were  allowed  to 
come  and  go  in  their  boats,  and  purchase  in  the  city  what 
goods  and  fresh  provisions  they  required  as  before. 

The  commissioners  which  had  been  sent  to  Washington  by 
the  seceded  States  during  Buchanan’s  ministry  insisted  on  the 
evacuation  of  Fort  Sumter  by  the  Federal  troops,  and  a 
censure  on  the  conduct  of  Major  Anderson. 

General  Scott,  who  was  commander  of  the  United  States 
army,  considered  the  movement  as  strategetic,  and  commended 
the  conduct  of  Major  Anderson  as  an  officer. 

Mr.  Floyd,  Secretary  of  War,  recommended  the  withdrawal 
of  the  garrison  as  a safeguard  against  any  immediate  outbreak 
of  hostilities. 

President  Buchanan,  who  by  virtue  of  his  office  was  com- 


100 


LIFE  IX  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


mancler-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States, 
had  refused  to  take  any  action  in  the  matter,  but  left  it  first 
to  be  decided  by  Congress  whether  South  Carolina  and  the 
other  seceding  States  should  be  acknowledged  as  independent 
powers  or  not. 

As  Congress  took  no  action  in  the  matter,  the  commissioners, 
had  returned  without  anything  being  efiected. 

In  the  meantime  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  provision 
Fort  Sumter ; a steamer,  the  Star  of  the  West,  had  been  sent 
with  supplies  ; . but  as  she  approached  the  entrance  to  Charles- 
ton harbour  a gun  from  Fort  Moultrie  was  fired  across  her 
bow,  and  she  immediately  put  back  and  sailed  home.  I have 
heard  it  insinuated  that  this  was  only  a kind  of  form — a mere 
show  of  an  attempt  to  relieve  the  garrison,  and  a mere  form 
of  resistance,  a mere  feeler  to  find  if  the  Confederates  would 
actually  resist  any  attempt  to  relieve  the  garrison.  In  any 
case  the  attempt  made  to  relieve  the  garrison  was  a very 
weak  one,  and  a very  slight  hint  was  sufiicient  to  cause  them 
to  desist. 

Some  attempts  were  made  by  tlie  extreme  parties  and 
newspapers,  both  North  and  South,  to  manufacture  political 
capital  and  strife  out  of  the  event. 

The  Southern  fire-eaters  attempted  to  make  a boast  of  the 
pluck  of  the  Confederates  and  their  determination  to  resist 
any  aggression ; while  the  Northern  abolitionists  and  fanatics 
seemed  to  gloat  over  what  they  described  as  a gross  outrage 
and  cause  for  war — “The  rebels  firing  into  a United  States 
steamer.’’ 

After  Lincoln  came  into  power,  and  while  the  Confederate 
commissioners  at  Washington  were  waiting  for  an  audience. 
General  Scott  advised  that,  without  prejudice  to  any  view  that 
the  Federal  Government  might  take  in  regard  to  the  seceded 
States,  or  what  action  they  might  afterwards  take,  that  in  the 
meantime  the  troops  should  be  withdrawn  from  Fort  Sumter 
as  a military  necessity.  Their  presence  there  could  in  no  case 
be  of  any  advantage  to  the  United  States,  but  rather  an 
embarrassment.  No  action  was  taken  on  this  advice.  It  was 
evident  that  Mr.  Seward,  who  was  now  the  master  spirit  in 
Washington,  was  formulating  some  scheme  of  his  own.  Some 
attempts  had  been  made  to  throw  supplies  into  Fort  Sumter; 
and  the  Confederates,  irritated  at  what  they  considered  the 
shuffling  of  Mr.  Seward,  cut  OS'  the  supplies  which  the  garrison 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


101 


liad  been  receiving  from  the  city  of  Charleston,  strengthened 
Fort  Moultrie  and  placed  heavy  guns  to  command  effectually 
the  entrance  to  the  liarbour,  thus  stopping  any  approach  from 
the  sea,  and  preventing  the  Federal  government  throwing  in 
reinforcements  or  supplies  to  Fort  Sumter. 

General  Scott  is  said  to  have  again  advised  the  withdrawal 
of  the  troops  from  Fort  Sumter  as  a military  necessity. 

Mr.  Lincoln  again  declined.  It  was  evident  that  Mr. 
Seward,  who  was  the  real  head  of  affairs  at  Washington,  saw 
very  well  that  the  vanity  and  pugnacity  of  Jefferson  Davis 
and  his  cabinet,  and  the  defiant  and  warlike  attitude  of  the 
Confederate  leaders,  would  soon  overcome  their  patience  and 
wiser  judgment,  and  cause  them  to  commit  themselves  by 
striking  a blow  somewhere  which  would  thoroughly  rouse  the 
indignation  of  the  North  and  make  the  war  against  the  Soutli 
popular. 

Nor  was  he  wrong  in  his  conjecture. 

The  Confederate  government,  if  they  now  wished  to  avoid 
the  responsibility  of  striking  the  first  blow,  acted  with  a 
rashness  quite  uncalled  for  and  amounting  to  stupidity. 

The  troops  in  Fort  Sumter  were,  undoubtedly,  kept  there 
by  the  Federal  government  for  no  other  purpose  than  to 
provoke  and  irritate  the  secessionists.  They  were  there  of 
not  the  slightest  use  to  the  Federal  government.  They  could 
act  in  no  way — they  were  entirely  blockaded  and  cut  off  from 
receiving  any  support  or  supplies. 

When  Major  Anderson  abandoned  Fort  Moultrie,  he  spiked 
the  guns  and  moved  into  the  stronger  position  of  Fort  Sumter, 
which  commanded  Fort  Moultrie  and  the  whole  harbour  and 
town  of  Charleston.  The  secessionists  could  not  approach 
him  as  the  fort  was  entirely  surrounded  by  water,  and  they 
had  no  armed  vessels  or  any  power  on  the  water  whatever. 
In  making  this  movement  he  no  doubt  expected  that  the 
Federal  government  would  send  him  immediate  support. 
Had  the  Federal  government  at  the  time  supported  the 
movement  by  sending  a single  ship  of  war  into  Charleston 
harbour,  and  reinforcing  and  strengthening  Fort  Sumter,  they 
could  easily  have  prevented  the  secessionists  from  mounting  a 
single  gun  at  Charleston,  and  the  town  and  harbour  at  least 
must  have  remained  under  the  power  of  the  Union.  But  it 
was  now  too  late.  Three  months  had  passed  away,  and  the 
secessionists  had  had  it  all  their  own  way. 


102 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


General  Beauregarde,  wlio  commanded  the  Confederate 
forces  at  Charleston,  saw  the  position,  and  had  been  most 
indefatigable  in  his  exertions  to  strengthen  it.  He  had 
mounted  heavy  guns  at  Fort  Moultrie,  and  so  strengthened 
the  fort  as  to  be  able  successfully  to  resist  any  attack  by  sea 
which  the  United  States  could  make  upon  it,  and  thus  rendered 
impossible  any  immediate  attempt  to  relieve  or  reinforce  Fort 
Sumter. 

He  had  also  erected  land  batteries  of  heavy  guns  against 
Fort  Sumter,  and  all  supplies  being  now  cut  off  from  that 
fort,  the  garrison  was  reduced  to  extremities,  and  its  inevitable 
surrender  from  starvation  was  only  a question  of  a few  days^ 
time. 

It  was  therefore  very  natural  that  General  Scott,  a military 
man  of  great  ability,  should  advise  the  withdrawal  of  the 
troops  as  a military  necessity  while  an  opportunity  still  existed, 
for  had  hostilities  broken  out  the  Federal  garrison  would  have 
been  prisoners  of  war  and  so  much  loss  to  the  United  States. 

But  Mr.  Seward  knew  his  own  game ; he  had  effectually 
measured  the  patience,  prudence,  and  sagacity  of  Jefferson 
Davis  and  his  cabinet. 

While  it  seems  inexplicable  that  the  Confederate  leaders 
should  without  any  apparent  necessity  act  so  precipitantly, 
and  incur  the  onus  and  responsibility  of  the  war  by  bombard- 
ing the  fort  and  actually  commencing  hostilities,  I have 
never  heard  any  satisfactory  reason  given  for  the  rash  act. 
Of  course  the  excuse  set  forth  by  the  Confederate  leaders 
was  the  importance  of  the  fort  and  the  great  danger  to  be 
apprehended  to  the  Confederate  cause  should  the  Federal 
Government  be  able  to  send  an  expedition  to  force  an  entry 
into  Charleston  harbour  and  occupy  and  strengthen  Fort 
Sumter. 

But  there  was  not  the  slightest  grounds  for  this  apprehen- 
sion, and  the  Confederate  commanders  had  no  such  apprehen- 
sions. The  time  was  now  gone  past  for  this.  It  would  have 
been  impossible  for  the  Federal  Government  to  have  got  ready 
an  expedition  in  less  than  three  months  which  could  with  any 
chance  of  success  attempt  to  force  a passage  into  Charleston, 
whilst  it  was  well  known  that  the  garrison  could  not  hold  out 
for  more  tlian  ten  days  at  the  very  utmost. 

The  real  and  direct  cause,  so  far  as  I ever  could  see,  was  a 
vain  desire  on  the  part  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  some  of  the 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


103 


Confederate  leaders  to  gain  notoriety,  fame,  or  glory,  and  stir 
up  a warlike  feeling  throughout  the  South,  and  to  gratify  the 
vanity  of  a number  of  young  newly-made  officers  who  paraded 
the  streets  and  shone  forth  at  balls  with  jewelled  swords  and 
handsome  uniforms,  making  great  professions  of  zeal  and  im- 
patient to  be  led  on  to  battle,  and  other  fiery  demagogues  who 
thirsted  for  war,  but  who  all  disappeared  from  the  scene  after 
the  war  broke  out  in  earnest. 

To  illustrate  this  I believe  I cannot  do  better  than  relate 
one  single  instance  of  what  I saw  and  heard. 


CHAPTER  X. 


A DISCUSSION  IN  A CAFE  ON  THE  SITUATION — MODERATE  MEN  AND 
FIRE-EATERS. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  April,  1861,  a few  days  before  the 
bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter.  At  this  time  great  activity 
was  being  displayed  at  Baton  Rouge  arsenal  in  preparing  and 
sending  off  heavy  guns,  shot,  shell,  and  other  munitions  to 
Fort  Jackson  and  the  other  forts  commanding  the  entrance  to 
the  Mississippi  river,  when  I chanced  one  evening  along  with 
a friend  to  step  into  the  cafe  of  the  principal  hotel  at  Baton 
Rouge,  where  some  of  the  chief  officers  were  putting  up. 

Standing  near  the  bar  was  a group  of  officers  in  uniform  in 
conversation  with  some  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  place. 
Conspicuous  among  them  was  a Mr.  D.,  formerly  known  as 
captain,  but  the  jumps  at  that  time  from  captain  to  general 
were  so  rapid  that  their  toes  seemed  scarcely  to  touch  the 
intermediate  steps,  so  that  I do  not  know  what  rank  he,  may 
have  held  on  that  particular  day,  but  I presume  from  the  way 
he  was  addressed  that  it  may  have  been  Major.” 

The  subject,  of  course,  was  the  great  revolution,  and  the 
centre  to  which  all  eyes  were  turned  was  the  critical  position 
at  Fort  Sumter.  The  following  is  about  the  substance  of  the 
conversation  : — 

“ I hope,”  said  Dr.  P.,  ‘‘  that  our  leaders  at  Charleston  will 
act  cautiously,  and  not  be  led  into  the  trap  Mr.  Seward  has 
laid  for  them.” 

“ What  trap  do  you  mean  ? ” said  Mr.  T.  J. 

“ Why,  into  striking  the  first  blow,  and  throwing  upon  us 
the  onus  and  responsibility  of  the  war.” 

Confound  the  onus  and  responsibility,”  said  Judge  R., 
‘‘  they  have  been  the  aggressors,  and  with  them  rests  the 
responsibility.” 

‘‘  Well,  we  consider  them  the  aggressors,”  said  Mr.  S.,  “ but 
the  world  at  large  may  not  be  of  that  opinion.” 

“ What  do  we  care  for  the  opinion  of  the  world  at  large  ? ” 
said  Mr.  H.,  as  he  drained  ofi*  his  glass  and  looked  around  to 
see  who  was  likely  to  stand  treat  next. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


105 


“ Well,  I do  not  mean  so  much  the  opinion  of  European 
powers,”  replied  Mr.  S.,  ‘‘  though  that  may  be  something,  but 
that  of  the  other  States  is  a very  great  matter.  We  have 
now  the  sympathy  of  the  powerful  States  all  around  us, — 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  all  the  other  Southern 
States  sympathise  with  us,  and  would  resist  any  force  being 
sent  through  their  territory  to  coerce  us.  But  we  know  they 
are  all  wishful  to  avoid  war,  and  for  us  to  strike  a blow 
unnecessarily  would  be  against  us,  and  considerably  alienate 
their  sympathy.” 

‘‘  S.  and  the  Doctor  were  always  Unionists  and  submis- 
sionists,”  said  Judge  R.,  and  I suppose  would  submit  to  be 
crushed  under  the  feet  of  Lincoln  and  his  abolition  crew ; for 
me,  before  I would  submit  to  such  degradation,  I would  mount 
my  horse  and  go  alone  and  fight  against  the  abolition  hordes ! ” 

‘‘  I admit,”  rejoined  Mr.  S.,  that  I have  been  always  in 
favour  of  Union,  if  that  is  possible,  and  due  respect  is  paid  to 
Southern  rights  and  interests.  But  if  those  are  unduly 
encroached  upon,  then  I advocate  secession  and  accept  it ; but 
I prefer  that  it  should  be  done  peaceably,  and  I see  no  reason 
why  it  should  not.  I am  certain  that  a large  majority  of  the 
population  of  the  whole  States,  both  Korth  and  South,  although 
opposed  to  our  secession,  are  still  opposed  to  any  coercion 
against  us,  and  that  if  no  arrangement  can  be  made  to 
persuade  us  to  remain  in  the  Union,  we  should  be  allowed  to 
go  in  peace.  But  if  we,  without  any  just  cause,  strike  a blow 
and  commence  hostilities,  then  we  turn  the  tide  of  popular 
feeling  against  us,  and  we  just  play  into  the  hands  of  that 
unprincipled  man,  Seward,  who  is  known  to  be  the  bitter 
enemy  of  the  South,  and  who  is  just  leading  by  the  nose  that 
simple  and  ignorant  man,  Lincoln,  and  playing  his  own  cards 
so  as  to  provoke  us  to  strike  in  order  to  rouse  the  indignation 
of  the  North  and  turn  all  - the  other  States  against  us,  which 
would  not  only  strengthen  his  hands  but  give  him  good  grounds 
for  swooping  down  upon  us  in  all  his  fury,  and  enable  him  to 
gratify  his  long  pent-up  revenge  upon  the  South.  He  is  just, 
as  Dr.  P.  has  said,  ‘ Laying  a trap  for  us  by  keeping  those 
troops  in  Fort  Sumter  to  provoke  us  into  hostilities.’  ” 

“ Then  why  not  blow  them  to  h — 11  ?”  roared  T.  J.  ‘‘  He 
is  keeping  them  there  to  insult  us  by  waving  their  detested 
Yankee  fiag  in  the  middle  of  our  harbour  and  before  our  eyes. 
Is  that  not  a just  cause  for  striking  a blow  ? ” 


106 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Discretion  and  caution  is  better,”  continued  Mr.  S. 

“ Discretion  and  caution  be  d d,”  roared  Mr.  H.  “ Let 

us  have  another  drink.”  Mr.  S.  immediately  ordered  drinks 
all  round  to  keep  Mr.  H.  quiet. 

‘‘It  is  not  so  much  discretion  and  caution  as  good  policy 
and  strategy,”  continued  Mr.  S.  “We  have  nothing  to  appre- 
hend from  the  United  States  troops  in  Fort  Sumter.  They 
may  wave  their  flag  there  for  a few  days  longer,  but  for  a very 
few  days  only.  They  are  virtually  our  prisoners.-  Beaure- 
garde  has  so  strengthened  the  forts  guarding  the  approach  to 
Charleston  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  the  United  States  to 
force  an  entrance  to  relieve  them,  nor  will  they  attempt  it, 
and  in  a few  days  they  will  be  starved  out  and  they  will  be 
quite  in  our  power,  and  we  will  have  the  fort  in  good  condi- 
tion without  having  it  damaged  by  a bombardment,  and  the 
defences  of  Charleston  will  be  complete  and  nothing  done  to 
provoke  a rupture.  We  would  then  be  in  a position  to  stand 
on  the  defensive  without  making  any  advance  toward  war,  and 
we  would  still  have  the  sympathy  of  a large  portion  of  the 
people  both  North  and  South ; and  there  are  plenty  of  sensible 
men.  North  and  South,  to  settle  this  matter  without  war.” 

“ It  is  all  nonsense  now  to  talk  of  peace,”  said  Judge  B. 
“War  must  come,  and  the  sooner  it  comes  the  better ; and  I 
denounce  any  man  who  would  talk  of  Union  or  advocate  peace 
or  submission  to  Lincoln’s  rule.” 

“As  to  that.  Judge,”  replied  Mr.  S.,  “I  do  not  exactly 
understand  what  term  you  would  apply  to  me.  I am  not  an 
advocate  of  peace  at  any  price,  and  I am  ready  to  stand  out 
for  the  rights  of  the  South  as  you  are.  I have  a son  a mid- 
shipman in  the  United  States  navy,  and  I have  written  to 
him  to  resign  and  come  home  if  a rupture  takes  place.  I have 
other  two  sons  who  have  already  joined  volunteer  companies, 
and  are  preparing  themselves  to  join  in  the  defence  if  it  should 
become  necessary  and  war  is  the  ultimatum.  As  for  myself, 
I trust  to  do  my  duty  as  far  as  lies  in  my  power.  But  I do 
not  aspire  to  the  Herculean  task  of  fighting  the  Northern 
hordes  single-handed,  and  I regard  such  language  as  idle 
balderdash.” 

Major  D.,  who  had  till  now  preserved  a dignified  silence, 
now  spoke  up  with  all  the  pomp  of  a military  dictator. 
“ Gentlemen,”  said  he,  “ it  is  neither  possible  nor  desirable 
that  this  matter  should  be  settled  like  a common  law  plea, 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


107 


and  without  a clash  of  arms.  It  would  be  a paper  agreement, 
patched  up  by  a set  of  political  lawyers.  Our  revolution  would 
not  be  worth  the  name  of  a revolution,  and  our  independence 
not  worth  having  if  it  was  not  baptized  in  blood.  We  have 
now  gained  the  position  over  the  enemy ; we  must  show  them 
our  power;  we  must  strike  terror  into  them.  We  can  now 
present  to  them  a strong  and  unbroken  front,  and  show  them 
that  we  are  in  earnest,  and  this  we  will  do,  and  it  matters 
little  who  likes  and  who  don’t  like  it,  and  I hope  to  see 
Beauregarde  open  fire  on  Fort  Sumter  before  this  week  is  out.” 

‘‘  What  is  the  last  news,  Major  ? ” cried  several  voices 
‘‘  There  is  a report  just  come  in  that — ” 

“ The  last  news,”  cried  the  Major  (interrupting  lest  anyone 
should  anticipate  him),  ‘‘  is  that  Beauregarde  has,  by  order  of 
President  Davis,  demanded  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter. 
He  has  given  Major  Anderson  three  days  to  surrender,  and  if 
he  don’t  surrender  in  that  time  he  will  open  fire  upon  the  fort. 
Major  Anderson  has  replied  that  he  has  supplies  for  six  days 
only,  but  if  he  gets  no  instructions  from  Washington  he  will 
hold  out  while  he  has  a single  biscuit  left.” 

“ Then  I think,”  said  Mr.  S.,  ‘‘  that  they  should  let  him  eat 
his  last  biscuit,  and  then  let  him  surrender  quietly.” 

“No,”  replied  the  Major ; “ we  must  give  them  a taste  of 
Southern  fire ; we  must  show  them  that  we  are  not  to  be  trifled 
with.  Beauregarde  must  not  lose  the  chance  of  striking  terror 
into  them.  I only  wish  I had  the  chance.” 

“You  may  get  the  chance  in  good  time.  Major,”  said  Mr.  S., 
“ if  war  breaks  out,  for  depend  upon  it,  if  it  does,  it  will  not 
be  long  before  they  make  an  attempt  to  get  control  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  it  would  be  a gone  cause  with  us  if  they 
got  that.” 

“ That  is  what  I would  not  like  to  see  them  get,”  said  Mr. 
T.,  an  old  veteran,  and  now  one  of  the  chief  men  in  the 
Ordnance  Department. 

“ That  is  just  what  I would  like  to  see  them  attempt,”  said 
Captain  J.,  a newly-fledged  Confederate  officer  in  shining 
uniform,  who  was  in  command  of  the  troops  in  the  garrison. 

“ Attempt  it ! ” said  the  Major  with  an  air  of  self-satisfac- 
tion ; “ that  is  just  what  I am  afraid  they  will  not  attempt;  if 
they  do,  I am  there.” 

“ And  if  they  do,  I am  there  too,”  said  Captain  J. 

“ And  I will  be  there  too,”  said  Mr.  H.,  as  he  looked  around, 


108 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


taking  care  to  show  that  his  glass  was  empty,  “ and  we  will 
fatten  the  cat-fish  in  the  river  on  their  abolition  carcases.’’ 

At  this  time  Mr.  T.,  of  the  Ordnance  Department,  having 
recognized  us,  left  the  party  and  came  over  and  joined  us,  and 
we  walked  out  together. 

Mr.  T.  was  a veteran  who  had  served  in  the  Mexican  w^ar, 
and  he  had  been  over  twelve  years  a foreman  in  the  Ordnance 
Department;  he  was  a respectable  man,  and  we  were  both 
acquainted  with  him,  his  son  being  a member  of  the  same 
volunteer  company  as  myself. 

‘‘  He  seems  to  be  a terrible  warrior  that  Major  D.,”  remarked 
my  companion  as  soon  as  we  had  got  out  to  the  street. 

‘‘  Bosh,”  said  Mr.  T.,  “ he  is  a squirt,  he  is  freezing  for  a fight, 
and  I doubt  much  if  there  would  be  much  fight  in  him  if  put 
to  the  test.” 

“ Has  he  got  command  of  the  forts  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  ? ” 

“Yes,  I believe  so ; he  has  got  charge  of  the  mounting  of 
them  anyway.” 

“Is  he  a graduate  of  West  Point ? ” 

“ O,  I suppose  so,  and  I believe  he  has  been  in  the  regular 
army.” 

“ What  is  he  that  Captain  J.  ? ” 

“ O,  he  is  no  military  man,  he  is  just  learning ; he  got  his 
commission  and  that  post  because  he  took  an  active  part  in 
the  secession  movement.” 

“ He  seems  to  have  plenty  of  confidence  in  himself  anyhov/,” 
observed  my  companion. 

“Ah!  they  all  have  plenty  of  confidence  in  themselves, 
these  fire-eaters.  I only  wish  they  may  be  up  to  the  mark 
when  the  time  comes.” 

“ Do  you  think  there  is  any  truth  in  what  Major  D.  was 
saying  about  Beauregarde  going  to  bombard  Fort  Sumter?” 

“ Well,  I would  not  doubt  but  there  is.” 

“ Well,  I think  they  are  going  mad  altogether.” 

“It  is  certainly  madness,  but  that  is  between  ourselves,” 
and  Mr.  T.  put  his  finger  to  his  lip  as  a sign  of  the  times. 

My  companion,  who  was  a citizen  and  a man  of  some  stand- 
ing in  the  place,  observed  the  motion  and  bit  his  lip.  “ Well, 
I think,”  said  he,  “ that  old  S.  gave  them  his  mind  pretty 
freely  there  to-night.” 

“ Yes,”  he  did,  said  Mr.  T.,  “ and  spoke  good  sense  too. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


109 


Old  S.  does  not  care  for  one  of  them.  They  can’t  cow  him  ; 
he  has  more  brains  and  more  fire  too  than  all  that  was  there 
put  together.  I only  wish  we  had  more  men  like  him 
amongst  us.” 

“ I believe  if  we  had,”  said  my  companion,  we  would  have 
had  no  secession.” 

“We  would  not,”  said  Mr.  T.  “ Good  night.”  And  Mr. 
T.  took  his  leave,  and  we  went  home. 

I might  here  anticipate  a little,  and  give  a short  sketch  of 
the  characters  who  took  part  in  this  conversation,  and  the 
parts  they  afterwards  took. 

Dr.  P.  was  a man  well  advanced  in  years.  He  had  been  in 
early  life  a physician,  but  became  a planter,  and  owned  a large 
number  of  slaves.  He  retained  his  Union  principles  as  far  as 
it  was  possible  for  him  to  do  so ; he  kept  very  quiet,  and  took 
little  or  no  part  in  the  secession  movement. 

When  Hew  Orleans  and  other  parts  of  the  State  were  sub- 
dued by  the  Federal  forces  he  exerted  himself  as  a mediator, 
and  by  his  influence  got  some  of  his  old  friends  released  and 
paroled  who  had  been  imprisoned  by  Butler  and  other  Federal 
commanders. 

Mr.  S.  was  also  advanced  in  years,  was  also  a planter  and 
slaveowner  and  a merchant. 

When  Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation  he  became  an  active 
supporter  of  the  Confederacy.  His  sons  all  joined  the  Con- 
federate army.  One  of  them  was  in  the  same  company  with 
me,  and  was  brave  to  recklessness. 

Judge  R.  was  a younger  man.  He  had  followed  law  and 
had  been  a judge,  but  was  now  a planter  and  slaveowner.  He 
continued  to  make  warlike  speeches,  until  told  that  warlike 
words  were  no  longer  wanted  but  warlike  deeds,  but  he  could 
never  be  prevailed  upon  or  even  shamed  into  joining  the  army. 
He  vanished  from  the  scene. 

T.  J.  was  a planter  and  slaveowner;  he  was  also  a compara- 
tive young  man.  He  had  made  himself  so  conspicuous  as  a 
votary  of  war  and  a fire-eater  that  he  was  constrained  to  take 
some  part,  and  obtained  an  appointment  as  a commissary, 
which  he  held  for  some  time  while  the  commissary  department 
was  fat  and  healthy;  but  when  that  got  lean  and  unhealthy 
so  did  T.  J.,  and  he  retired  on  the  sick  list. 

Mr.  H.  had  also  been  a planter  and  slaveowner ; but,  being 
also  a good  judge  of  brandy,  his  plantation  and  slaves  got 


no 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


heavily  mortgaged  to  Northern  capitalists,  and  ultimately 
became  the  means  of  converting  to  Southern  principles  one 
or  more  of  the  Northern  abolitionists  who  came  South  and 
took  possession  of  his  plantation  and  slaves,  and  quite  abjured 
their  abolition  sentiments.  Mr.  H.  then  adopted  the  less 
successful  method  of  making  converts  by  becoming  a politician 
and  advocating  Southern  rights  from  the  stump  until  his  coat 
and  his  subject  alike  became  threadbare.  He  continued  to  be 
a frequenter  of  the  cafes,  and  throughout  the  war  always 
contrived  to  be  on  good  terms  with  either  Confederates  or 
Federals,  just  as  the  one  or  the  other  happened  to  be  in  pos- 
session of  the  place. 

Major  D.  speedily  became  a general,  and  was  entrusted  with 
the  defence  of  the  Mississippi  and  commanded  the  forts  near 
the  entrance  of  the  river.  Great  conhdence  was  placed  in 
him.  He  was  called  the  gallant  I),  by  the  newspapers  and  the 
ladies.  He  commanded  the  forts  and  defended  the  river  very 
bravely  until  the  enemy  made  their  first  appearance,  when  of 
the  defence  he  made  there  are  many  conflicting  reports,  but  it 
was  not  what  was  expected  of  him.  The  Federal  fleet  sailed 
past,  occupied  New  Orleans,  and  got  control  of  the  lower 
Mississippi,  which  was  the  first  and  most  fatal  blow  ^ to  the 
Confederate  States.  The  gallant  H.  surrendered  himself  a 
prisoner  of  war,  accepted  a parole  and  went  and  took  his 
residence  quietly  in  the  North,  and  that  was  the  last  of  the 
gallant  H. 

Captain  J.,  who  had  been  so  wishful  to  see  the  Federal 
forces  attempt  the  Mississippi  river,  got  the  opportunity  of 
having  his  wish  gratified.  He  did  not,  however,  wait  to  see 
them,  but  quickly  abandoned  his  post.  It  is  true  he  could  not 
have  held  it  against  the  Federal  fleet ; but  the  precipitancy  of 
his  retreat  without  reconnoitering  or  taking  some  observation 
of  the  enemy’s  movements  caused  some  comment. 

He  afterwards  came  to  our  camp  at  Corinth,  and  was 
recounting  with  great  gusto  his  feat  of  destroying  some  of  the 
garrison  property  so  that  it  should  not  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  and  was  describing  how  he  had  taken  down  the 
flagstaff  and  broken  it  into  pieces. 

“ Hid  you  break  it  over  a Yankee’s  head,”  jeeringly  said  little 
A.  B.,  a lad  in  our  company  not  yet  seventeen  years  of  age. 

Captain  J.  turned  fiercely  on  him,  and  recognized  in  him  a 
boy  whose  head  he  had  threatened  to  break  for  some  little 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


Ill 


offence  about  the  garrison  gates  at  Baton  Rouge  about  a year 
before. 

That  lad  was  now  a veteran,  having  fought  in  three  battles, 
and  had  been  once  wounded. 

Captain  J.  had  little  more  to  say,  cut  the  conversation 
short,  and  sneaked  off. 

On  the  morning  after  I had  witnessed  this  scene,  the  news- 
papers gave  an  account  of  the  communication  between  General 
Beauregarde  and  Major  Anderson  something  similar  to  what 
had  been  related  by  Major  D.  General  Beauregarde,  in  the 
name  of  the  Confederate  States,  had  given  Major  Anderson  a 
certain  time  to  surrender  the  fort,  and  if  he  did  not  surrender 
it  in  that  time,  he  would  open  fire  upon  it.  To  which  Major 
Anderson  replied  that  he  could  get  no  instructions  from  Wash- 
ington, but  that  he  would  return  the  fire  and  defend  the  fort 
as  far  as  it  was  in  his  power,  and  if  Beauregarde  did  not 
batter  him  to  pieces,  he  would  in  any  case  be  starved  out  in 
a few  days. 

It  has  been  stated  that  General  Beauregarde  and  Major 
Anderson,  who  were  both  men  of  the  highest  honour  and 
integrity,  were  upon  the  most  friendly  terms  with  each  other; 
that  Beauregarde  was  pressed  by  the  impetuosity  of  Jefferson 
Davis  and  his  cabinet,  and  Major  Anderson  was  disgusted 
with  the  mean  and  deceitful  shuffling  of  the  Government  at 
Washington.  And  there  was  a mutual  understanding  between 
them  that  the  bombardment  should  take  place.  It  would  on 
the  one  hand  gratify  the  vanity  and  ambition  of  Jefferson 
Davis  and  the  Confederate  leaders,  and  on  the  other  hand 
relieve  Major  Anderson  from  his  awkward  position,  and  afford 
him  an  honourable  pretext  for  surrendering  the  fort. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


BOMBARDMENT  OF  FORT  SUMTER— NOBODY  HURT — CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE 
ACT — CONFEDERATE  LEADERS  VAINGLORIOUS — IMAGINARY  VICTORY  TO 
JEFFERSON  DAVIS -GREATER  VICTORY  TO  MR  SEWARD— LINCOLN  S WAR 
PROCLAMATION  — THE  FEELING  IT  PRODUCED  — INDIGNATION  OF  THE 
PEOPLE— THEY  NOW  SECEDE  IN  EARNEST. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  1861,  Beauregarde  opened  fire  upon 
Fort  Sumter ; his  force  was  about  8,000  men,  and  about  200 
heavy  guns. 

Major  Anderson’s  force  in  Fort  Sumter  numbered  about 
83  men,  and  they  replied  with  as  many  guns  as  they  could 
work  to  advantage. 

The  bombardment  continued  for  about  two  days,  when  some 
wooden  buildings  in  the  fort  were  discovered  to  be  on  fire. 
Whether  this  was  from  the  effect  of  the  Confederate  shells  or 
from  some  other  cause  is  not  known,  but  the  garrison  worn 
out  after  a gallant  defence  displayed  a flag  of  truce,  a parley 
was  gone  through,  and  Major  Anderson’s  force  evacuated  the 
fort  carrying  their  arms  and  colours  and  with  all  the  honours 
of  war.  Major  Anderson  for  the  time  being  became  the 
honoured  guest  of  General  Beauregarde. 

It  has  been  facetiously  remarked  that  the  gunnery  on  both 
sides  must  have  been  exceedingly  good,  as  this  tremendous 
cannonade  was  kept  up  for  two  days  without  a single  person 
being  hurt  on  either  side.  This  was  supposed  to  have  been 
the  object  of  the  combatants,  but  how  it  was  carried  out 
without  accident  seems  almost  a miracle;  and,  notv/ithstanding 
the  serious  state  of  matters,  it  was  humorously  remarked 
throughout  the  South  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  still  be  able  to 
express,  as  before,  the  only  views  he  had  ever  given  of  his 
opinion  or  intended  policy  in  regard  to  the  situation,  which 
was  a congratulation  ‘‘  that  there  was  nobody  hurt.” 

The  ceremony  (for  it  was  nothing  more)  was  thus  over,  and 
Fort  Sumter  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

Bloodless  and  farcical  as  this  performance  seems  to  have 
been,  it  was  the  great  factor  in,  and  originator  of,  the 
devastating  war  through  years  of  bloodshed  which  followed. 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


113 


Truly  did  General  Banks  say  two  years  afterwards,  in  his 
proclamation  at  New  Orleans,  that  the  first  gun  fired  at 
Sumter  proclaimed  emancipation. 

A little  prudence  on  the  part  of  Jefierson  Davis  and  his 
cabinet,  and  a little  patience,  was  all  that  was  now  required. 

They  might  have  sat  in  perfect  security,  and  in  a week’s 
time  the  garrison  would  have  surrendered.  They  would  have 
got  possession  of  the  fort  sound  and  entire.  That  “ first  gun 
at  Sumter  ” would  never  have  been  fired,  war  might  have  been 
averted,  and  emancipation  in  due  time  have  come  through  a 
bloodless  path.  Mr.  Seward  would  not  yet  have  had  a just 
cause  to  declare  war  against  the  seceded  States;  he  would  not 
have  had  the  undivided  sympathy  of  the  North  in  attempting 
to  coerce  them,  and  he  would  not  have  been  justified  even  by 
the  bulk  of  the  Northern  people  in  declaring  war  without 
first  making  at  least  some  attempt  at  a peaceful  settlement. 

The  news  of  the  bombardment  and  fall  of  Fort  Sumter 
spread  like  lightning  throughout  the  whole  States,  North  and 
South.  The  vainglorious  triumph  of  Jefierson  Davis  and  the 
Confederate  leaders  knew  no  bounds;  it  was  paraded  as  a 
great  victory  for  the  Southern  arms,  and  was  made  use  of  in 
every  possible  way  to  rouse  a warlike  feeling  in  the  South.  A 
great  many,  however,  regarded  the  afiair  in  a more  serious 
light,  and  saw  the  chances  of  peace  getting  less  and  less. 

While  Jefierson  Davis  and  the  Confederate  leaders  were 
triumphing  over  their  imaginary  victory  and  flooding  the 
country  with  speeches  about  the  prowess  of  Southern  arms 
and  threatening  all  opponents  with  a taste  of  Southern  gun- 
powder and  Southern  steel,  Mr.  Seward  was  chuckling  over 
the  much  more  important  victory  he  had  gained. 

His  plans  had  succeeded  completely.  He  had  obtained  the 
casus  belli  he  had  sought,  and  had  manoeuvred  so  that  the 
Confederate  States  should  strike  the  first  blow,  and  give  him 
cause  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  the  South,  and  he  did  not 
fail  to  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity. 

The  Lincoln  newspapers  of  course  made  the  most  of  it. 
The  Northern  people,  few  of  whom  knew  the  position  or 
understood  Mr.  Seward’s  game,  were  fired  with  indignation, 
and  the  feeling  against  the  Confederate  States  was  general 
throughout  the  North,  and  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter 
was  declared  to  be  the  opening  of  hostilities  and  the  com- 
mencement of  war. 

H 


114 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Mr.  Seward  took  care  to  take  the  tide  at  the  flood.  He  did 
not  give  the  Northern  people  time  to  reflect,  or  allow  any 
pro-Southern  papers  time  to  comment  on  his  shuffling  game 
or  plead  any  extenuating  circumstances  on  behalf  of  the  Con- 
federates, few  as  there  were  to  plead,  but  followed  up  the 
news  of  the  bombardment  so  quickly  with  an  exposition  of 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  policy  by  his  proclamation  and  declaration  of 
war  that  it  was  obvious  he  must  have  had  it  all  prepared 
and  ready  before  the  bombardment  took  place.  He  at  the 
same  time  turned  to  the  commissioners  whom  he  had  kept 
waiting  for  an  audience  and  gave  as  his  reply — “No  compro- 
mise with  traitors.” 

I may  observe  that  any  opinions  I may  express  on  these 
subjects  are  the  summing  up  of  sentiments  I heard  privately 
expressed  on  the  rapidly  occurring  events  during  that  critical 
period  by  men  of  sound  wisdom  and  integrity  who  kept  entirely 
out  of  the  political  circle.  And  I think  it  is  unfortunate,  and 
must  be  disastrous  to  popular  governments,  when  so  many  of 
the  wisest  and  most  virtuous  men  show  such  apathy  in  public 
matters  and  allow  public  affairs  to  get  into  the  hands  of  a few 
unprincipled  demagogues  who  usurp  the  name  of  the  people, 
and  to  which  usurped  power  the  most  respectable  of  society 
must,  as  in  this  case,  in  the  end  become  slaves  and  victims. 
To  the  apathy  of  the  honest  and  respectable  people,  and  to 
the  usurpation  of  power  by  unprincipled  political  demagogues, 
may  be  ascribed  the  whole  consequences  of  this  fratricidal  and 
devastating  war. 

Mr.  Lincoln’s  proclamation,  which  was  issued  immediately 
after  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  was  a declaration  of 
war  against  the  States  said  to  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  and  a call  for  75,000  men  to  crush  the  rebel- 
lion. To  each  State  outside  of  the  Confederacy  was  issued  an 
order  to  furnish  its  quota  of  men.  And  an  imperative  demand 
was  made  upon  these  States  in  rebellion  to  lay  down  their  arms 
and  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  United  States  within  10  days. 

The  purport  of  this  proclamation  was  so  sweeping  and 
imperative  and  so  menacing  in  its  tone,  that  it  caused  the 
greatest  excitement  not  only  within  the  Confederate  States 
but  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Southern  States.  It  seemed 
to  outdo  even  the  arrogance  and  pugnacity  of  Jefferson  Davis 
and  his  cabinet.  It  left  no  opening  for  any  peaceful  settle- 
ment, and  it  entirely  ignored  the  existence  of  any  loyal  or 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


115 


peaceful  citizens  within  the  Confederate  States.  It  made  no 
^ippeal  to  them.  It  held  out  to  them  no  guarantee  or  promise 
of  protection  or  amnesty.  It  gave  them  no  alternative  but 
unconditional  surrender  or  the  sword. 

This  was  what  was  called  Lincoln’s  proclamation,  and  he 
had  to  bear  the  name  of  it,  and  against  him  was  kindled  the 
anger  of  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  South.  It  was, 
however,  the  opinion  of  many,  and  this  opinion  was  freely 
expressed  with  what  justice  I do  not  pretend  to  say,  that 
although  Lincoln’s  name  was  appended  to  it,  it  never  eman- 
ated from  him  with  the  full  knowledge  of  its  purport,  but  that 
Mr.  Seward  was  in  every  word  of  it.  The  Federal  Executive 
well  knew  that  such  a proclamation  would  never  be  obeyed ; 
■and  Mr.  Seward  had  so  arranged  matters  that  he  had  got  his 
Southern  enemies  duly  convicted,  and  the  powerful  North 
fully  aroused  to  execute  the  punishment.  He  gloated  over 
the  blow  he  was  about  to  strike.  The  mere  punishment  of 
the  leaders  and  actual  perpetrators  would  not  satisfy  him, 
but,  like  Haman  of  old,  he  must  have  a glutting  revenge. 
Every  one  within  the  Southern  States  must  yield  to  his  grace 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 

Such  was  the  construction  put  upon  the  proclamation  by 
the  great  body  of  the  people  within  the  seceded  States  ; and 
such  was  the  light  in  which  it  was  regarded,  and  the  way  it 
was  commented  upon.  How  far  the  proclamation  itself,  or 
the  construction  put  upon  it  may  have  been  warranted  or 
justifiable  it  is  not  for  me  to  say,  but  this  sudden  development 
of  Lincoln’s  policy,  as  it  was  called,  took  every  one  by  surprise, 
because  it  was  so  sudden  and  unexpected. 

The  so-called  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  though  no 
doubt  a high-handed  act,  and  might  be  called  an  outrage,  yet 
it  was  no  more  than  many  similar  acts  already  done  by  the 
seceding  States  of  which  the  Federal  Government  had  taken 
no  cognizance. 

It  was  known  to  be  nothing  more  than  a mere  demonstration, 
with  a careful  avoidance  of  bloodshed  previously  arranged 
between  the  two  commanders,  a harmless  glove  fight  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  seizing  of  the  arsenal  and  garrison  at 
Baton  Rouge  by  a mere  display  of  force;  but,  as  in  this  case 
the  fort  could  not  be  approached  by  infantry  by  land,  a form 
of  a bombardment  was  gone  through,  the  result  of  which  will 
speak  for  itself. 


116 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  Confederate  Government,  if  they  really  desired  a peace- 
ful settlement,  must  have  seen  afterwards  their  error — 
although  they  never  admitted  it — and  how  they  had  been  out- 
witted by  Mr.  Seward  in  thus  letting  him  get  the  handle 
which  he  so  quickly  made  use  of. 

It  has  been  stated  that  secession  was  not  the  unanimous 
act  of  the  States,  but  that  a large  portion  of  the  population 
was  beguiled  or  coerced  into  the  act.  In  refutation  of  this 
it  is  said  that  this  is  disproved  by  the  unanimity  with  which 
the  Southerners  took  up  arms  and  fought  so  determinedly 
for  their  independence. 

So  far  as  my  observation  went  at  the  time  the  Act  of  Seces- 
sion was  passed,  the  population  was  not  unanimously  in  favour 
of  it,  and  in  most  of  the  States  the  majority  of  the  people 
were  opposed  to  it.  The  act  was  carried  through  chiefly  by 
the  machinations  of  politicians,  and  some  of  the  more  rabid 
pro-slavery  men  who  had  extreme  views  on  the  subject.  But 
the  inaction  of  the  Federal  Government  and  their  seeming 
acquiescence  in  the  movement  caused  many  to  accept  the 
situation,  and  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  inaugurated,  his  seeming 
indecision  and  imbecility,  followed  by  the  supposed  shuffling 
and  deceitful  policy  of  Mr.  Seward,  caused  a still  greater 
number  to  adhere  to  the  secession  party.  But  when  Mr. 
Lincoln’s  war  proclamation  was  issued  calling  for  troops  to 
crush  the  seceded  States  into  obedience,  then  in  reality  did 
unanimous  secession  take  place.  The  people  within  the  Con- 
federate States,  especially  those  who  had  been  favourable  to 
union  and  opposed  to  secession,  were  now  face  to  face  with  the 
situation. 

Many  of  them  would  have  given  half  of  what  they  possessed 
to  have  preserved  the  Union.  They  would  have  been  ready 
to  take  up  arms  to  support  the  authority  of  the  Federal 
Government,  if  that  Government  had  at  the  proper  time 
shown  the  slightest  disposition  to  afford  them  any  support  or 
protection.  The  Federal  Government  had  neither  by  word  or 
act  given  them  the  slightest  encouragement,  it  had  rather 
seemed  to  point  out  to  them  that  it  was  their  duty  to  obey 
and  submit  to  the  secession  Government. 

The  Federal  Government  had  with  every  seeming  acquies- 
cence, and  without  resistance  and  without  protest  on  the  part 
of  the  administrative,  handed  over  to  the  secessionists  the 
forts,  arsenals,  arms,  and  munitions  of  war,  to  be  used  if  need 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


117 


be  in  coercing  into  submission  any  part  of  the  population  who 
might  be  opposed  to  secession.  The  Buchanan  Government 
had  abandoned  them  and  left  them  no  other  resource  but  to 
submit  to  the  secession  Government. 

The  secession  Government  had  gained  strength,  and  become 
firmly  established,  and  they  had  as  a matter  of  necessity 
accepted  it  for  the  time  being. 

Mr.  Lincoln’s  Government  had  come  into  power,  and  had 
been  in  power  for  more  than  a month,  without  giving  any 
indication  of  its  policy.  That  Government  had  shown  no 
friendly  disposition  towards  or  recognised  the  existence  of  any 
Union  or  loyal  party  within  the  Confederate  States.  It  had 
made  no  attempt  to  settle  the  matter  by  a conference  and 
avoid  war.  It  had  used  the  most  insidious  means  to  provoke 
a rupture,  and  in  this  it  had  succeeded. 

Whatever  might  be  their  sentiments,  they  could  no  longer 
remain  passive.  To  submit  to  Lincoln’s  terms  they  could  not, 
even  if  they  were  inclined.  They  were  hopelessly  in  the  power 
of  the  Confederate  Government,  which  was  strong,  determined, 
and  unscrupulous. 

If  the  secessionists  fought  and  resisted  Lincoln’s  proclama- 
tion, the  Union  party  could  not  remain  neutral,  they  would 
be  coerced  and  pressed  into  service,  and  compelled  to  take 
part  in  the  resistance,  or  they  would  be  persecuted  or  banished, 
their  goods  and  properties  confiscated,  and  their  homes 
desolated.  They  considered  that  the  Federal  Government 
by  its  weakness  and  inaction  had  placed  them  in  this  pre- 
dicament, and  now  the  same  Government,  under  a different 
leader,  sought  to  chastise  them  for  being  in  the  position  they 
were. 

They  did  not  long  hesitate,  however.  They  had  sought  to 
be  loyal  but  received  no  support.  They  had  been  cast  off  and 
abandoned,  and  they  would  not  now  submit  to  be  whipped 
back  into  and  under  a Government  which  they  considered 
had  forfeited  all  claim  to  their  respect  or  allegiance. 

The  whole  population  within  the  Confederate  States  was 
now  roused  to  a man,  and  the  last  vestige  of  Union  sentiment 
was  now  cast  off.  Those  who  had  hitherto  been  the  most 
earnest  in  their  desire  to  maintain  the  Union  and  preserve 
peace,  were  the  first  to  take  up  arms.  Nothing  was  now 
thought  of  but  war,  and  resisting  to  the  utmost  the  aggressive 
invasion  threatened  by  Mr.  Lincoln.  Volunteer  companies 


118 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


were  raised  in  every  community,  armed  and  drilled  with  great 
perseverance. 

I must  again  observe  that  whatever  may  be  said  or  has 
been  said  on  the  abstract  principles  which  led  to  this  war, 
particularly  where  it  has  been  set  forth  that  the  North  was 
lighting  to  abolish  slavery,  and  the  South  was  fighting  to 
maintain  it ; I must  to  such  an  assumption  give  an  unquali- 
fied denial.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  question  from 
which  the  quarrel  originated,  it  had  now  been  entirely  departed 
from  and  lost  sight  of. 

Of  the  thousands  who  at  this  time  rushed  to  arms,  I believe 
very  few  had  in  their  minds  the  question  of  slavery.  Many 
had  before  them  the  question  of  “ States’  Rights  ” versus 
“ Federal  authority,”  but  the  greatest  number  were  animated 
only  by  a determination  to  resist  Lincoln’s  proclamation. 

I can  also  assert  that  when  the  Northerners  took  up  arms 
in  obedience  to  Lincoln’s  proclamation  it  was  only  to  avenge 
the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  put  down  the  rebellion,  and 
maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Union.  Anything  like  emanci- 
pation, or  interfering  in  any  way  with  the  institution  of 
slavery,  was  no  part  of  the  programme,  and  was  most  emphati- 
cally repudiated.  The  abolition  of  slavery  which  afterwards 
followed,  was  altogether  an  after  consequence  of  the  war;  and 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  very  questionable  policy  in  issuing,  in  January, 
1863,  a proclamation  of  emancipation,  but  extending  emanci- 
pation only  to  the  slaves  in  the  States  or  parts  of  States  in 
rebellion  against  the  United  States,  was  called  forth  more  as  a 
military  necessity,  and  as  a means  of  subduing  the  South,  than 
from  any  philanthropic  motive.  This  will  be  shown  in  the 
course  of  events  as  they  happened. 

I mention  this  because  I think  there  has  been  altogether 
too  much  said  about  the  North  fighting  to  set  free  the  slaves, 
and  the  South  fighting  to  hold  them  in  slavery.  Such  asser- 
tions were  no  doubt  put  forth  by  the  Northern  agencies  to 
obtain  the  sympathy  of  the  world,  and  restrain  any  European 
or  foreign  power  from  recognizing  the  Confederacy.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  North  had  free  intercourse  with  all 
the  world,  and  could  put  their  side  of  the  question  to  the 
world  unchallenged ; wliile  the  South  was  blockaded  and 
secluded  from  the  world,  and  the  real  feeling  and  sentiment 
was  never  known  except  through  limited  and  restricted 
channels. 


CHAPTER  XIL 


INDIGNATION  AT  LINCOLN’S  PROCLAMATION  EXTENDS  TO  OTHER  STATES — 
TEXAS  JOINS  THE  CONFEDERACY — SECESSION  OF  VIRGINIA,  NORTH  CARO- 
LINA, TENNESSEE,  AND  ARKANSAS  — LINCOLN’S  MEASURES  TO  CHECK 
FURTHER  SECESSION — PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  BLOCKADE  OF  THE  SOUTH- 
ERN PORTS  — A NEW  AND  LARGER  CONFEDERACY  FORMED — A CALL  FOR 
VOLUNTEERS  — MY  OWN  POSITION  -- - REASONS  FOR  TAKING  UP  ARMS  — 
MEETING  AND  DECISION  OF  OUR  VOLUNTEER  COMPANY— PREPARATIONS 
AND  FITTING  OUT — DEPARTURE  FOR  NEW  ORLEANS— MUSTERING  INTO 
SERVICE. 

The  storm  of  indignation  which  was  aroused  by  Lincoln’s 
proclamation  was  not  confined  to  the  six  States  now  forming 
the  Confederacy.  It  spread  like  wildfire  throughout  all  the 
other  Southern  States.  The  sympathy  which  the  Confederate 
States  had  lost  by  their  rash  act  in  bombarding  Fort  Sumter, 
was  now  recovered  and  increased  tenfold. 

Texas,  which  up  till  now  had  been  undecided,  and  had 
been  more  inclined  to  fall  back  on  her  former  independence 
and  “ Lone  Star  Flag,”  at  once  joined  the  Confederacy. 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri  sent  a most  peremptory 
refusal  to  furnish  men  to  coerce  sovereign  States.  And 
in  a few  days  the  exciting  and  joyful  news  was  received 
in  the  Confederate  States  that  Virginia  had  seceded  from  the 
Union.  This  was  followed  quickly  by  the  news  that  North 
Carolina,  Arkansas,  and  Tennessee,  had  also  seceded,  and  that 
Maryland,  Kentucky,  and  Missouri  were  preparing  to  follow. 

It  was  now  ■ thought  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  seeing  the  serious 
state  of  matters,  and  the  gigantic  proportions  the  rebellion 
had  assumed,  would  make  an  attempt  at  some  conciliatory 
measures  by  proposing  negotiation  through  some  convention 
or  meeting  of  commissioners  appointed  by  North  and  South 
respectively,  to  come  to  some  arrangement  and  avoid  war,  or 
perhaps  have  the  matter  referred  to  the  decision  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

Whether,  as  has  been  supposed,  Mr.  Lincoln  entertained 
such  an  idea  but  was  overruled  by  Mr.  Seward,  I do  not 
know.  Certainly  his  position  was  now  one  of  great  difficulty. 


120 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


It  was  too  late  to  adopt  the  policy  of  letting  the  six 
rebellious  States  go  in  peace,  and  then  proceed  to  amend  the 
constitution.  There  were  now  11  seceding  States  and  three 
more  preparing  to  follow.  It  was  improbable  that  any 
proposal  to  negotiate  would  be  accepted  by  the  South,  which 
by  the  sudden  acquisition  to  its  strength,  had  become  more 
defiant  and  arrogant  than  ever,  and  would  accept  nothing  but 
total  severance  from  the  Union. 

The  first  movement  of  the  Federal  Government  was  to 
station  an  army  at  Washington  under  pretence  of  protecting 
that  city,  and  by  extending  a force  along  the  Potomac  cut  off 
Maryland  from  the  other  Southern  States,  and  so  prevent 
that  State  from  seceding.  At  the  same  time  a large  body  of 
United  States  troops  under  General  Lyon,  was  sent  into 
Missouri.  Thus  by  holding  command  of  the  Missouri  river 
they  cut  off  the  northern  part  of  that  State,  including  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  from  joining  with  the  South. 

Kentucky  had  in  the  meantime  declared  her  intention  to 
remain  strictly  neutral. 

Mr.  Lincoln  now  issued  another  proclamation,  declaring  the 
Southern  ports  to  be  in  a state  of  blockade,  and  at  the  same 
time  placing  a blockading  force  in  the  Mississippi  at  Cairo, 
where  the  Ohio  river  joins  the  Mississippi.  This  was  calcu- 
lated to  have  a very  paralyzing  effect  on  the  South,  as  it  cut 
off  all  communication  with  the  outer  world,  and  stopped  all 
additions  being  made  to  their  supplies  or  resources.  It  was, 
however,  to  some  extent  gratifying  to  the  Confederate  leaders 
in  so  far  as  the  act  of  blockading  the  seaports  was  concerned, 
as  it  would  bring  the  Federal  Government  into  conflict  with 
foreign  powers.  It  being  considered  a breach  of  international 
law  for  a nation  to  blockade  its  own  ports,  and  that  it  can  only 
as  a belligerent  blockade  the  ports  of  a foreign  enemy,  it  seemed 
plain  that  if  the  Federal  Government  wished  to  avoid  a con- 
flict with  foreign  powers  it  could  no  longer  claim  the  South  as 
an  integral  part  of  the  United  States,  and  must  either  with- 
draw the  blockade,  or  recognize  the  South  as  a foreign  power 
and  an  enemy.  These  views  were  paraded  before  the  Southern 
people  as  a proof  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  incapacity. 

In  the  meantime  the  last  seceded  States  had  joined  with  the 
six  States  which  had  previously  constituted  the  Confederacy, 
and  a new  and  more  powerful  Confederacy  was  thus  formed, 
consisting  of  the  States  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


121 


Carolina,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  The  seat  of  Government 
was  removed  from  Montgomerie,  Alabama,  to  Richmond, 
Virginia;  Jefferson  Davis  and  Stephens  remaining  respectively 
president  and  vice-president  as  before. 

The  States  of  Maryland  and  Missouri  being  now  kept  by 
the  Northern  troops  from  joining  the  South,  several  collisions 
had  taken  place  between  the  Northern  soldiers  and  the  popu- 
lace at  Baltimore  and  other  parts  of  Maryland,  and  in 
Missouri. 

The  Confederate  Government  now  gave  notice  to  all  parties 
who  sympathised  with  the  North,  to  leave  the  Confederate 
States  within  10  days,  and  all  communication  with  the  North 
was  cut  off,  war  was  declared,  and  a call  was  made  for  volun- 
teers to  serve  the  Confederate  States  for  a period  of  one 
year. 

I must  now  return  to  my  own  personal  position,  as  the  time 
had  now  come  when  I could  no  longer  remain  passive. 

I had  no  sympathy  with  the  secession  movement,  and  had 
always  been  opposed  to  it.  But  matters  had  much  changed 
since  secession  first  took  place,  and  I now  certainly  sympa- 
thised with  the  many  who  had  at  first  been  opposed  to  it,  but 
afterwards  became  disgusted  and  indignant  at  the  action,  or 
rather  inaction  of  the  Federal  Government,  at  the  imbecility 
of  Buchanan’s  Government,  and  the  shuffling  and  deceitful 
policy  of  Lincoln’s  cabinet. 

Still  I have  no  doubt,  should  there  be  any  who  may  consider 
these  pages  worth  reading,  they  will  very  justly  question  the 
consistency  of  my  action  in  taking  “act  and  part”  in  a move- 
ment in  which  I had  so  little  interest,  and  a cause  in  which  I 
had  so  little  sympathy,  and  which  I considered  had  at  first 
been  brought  about  by  such  corrupt  and  unfair  means  as  I 
have  attempted  to  describe,  and  that  I,  a disinterested  for- 
eigner, and  an  alien  without  kith  or  kin  in  the  whole  Western 
world,  should  forsake  peaceful  pursuits  and  embroil  myself  in 
a war  the  consequences  of  which  it  was  impossible  to  foresee, 
and  on  a side  against  which  the  chances  were  at  least  three 
to  one. 

These  questions  I put  to  myself  then,  and  have  often  put 
to  myself  since. 

Was  it  selfish  policy  ? Was  it  heartfelt  sympathy  ? Was 
it  a sense  of  honour,  or  love  of  adventure  ? 


122 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


I have  no  doubt  that  the  very  idea  of  such  reflections  from 
one  of  my  sphere  of  life  might  cause  a smile  from  many  whose 
aspirations  soar  to  a higher  sphere  of  philosophy,  but  I merely 
mention  them  as  they  may  tend  to  show  how  hundreds  of 
others  situated  like  myself  were  led  away  by  the  same 
impulse. 

I may  say  that  each  of  these  motives  contributed  more  or 
less  to  my  decision. 

First,  Policy  had  its  part  in  a business  point  of  view.  I 
had  since  I came  to  the  community  considerably  improved  my 
position.  I had  as  a working  man,  and  recently  as  a partner 
in  a business,  been  kindly  received  and  well  patronized  by 
the  people  of  the  place.  My  two  senior  partners  were  both 
foreign  to  the  country  (one  English  and  one  Scotch).  Both 
were  married  men  with  families  and  domiciled  in  the  place ; 
and  as  the  community  from  which  we  derived  our  support  had 
now  unanimously,  and  we  supposed  justifiably,  gone  in  for 
the  cause,  and  other  firms  composed  of  foreigners  had  lent 
it  their  aid,  our  firm  would  have  seemed  singularly  plodding 
and  selfish,  and  perhaps  been  regarded  with  suspicion  had  we 
held  aloof  and  not  contributed  at  least  one  man  to  the  service. 

Second,  Sympathy.  I had  been  strongly  opposed  to  secession, 
and  I could  scarcely  denounce  strongly  enough  the  one-sided, 
unjust,  p-nd  corrupt  means  by  which  the  secession  of  the  States 
was  efiected ; and,  though  my  opinion  on  that  point  was  still  the 
same,  I now  shared  with  the  large  body  of  loyal,  law-abiding 
and  Union-loving  people,  in  the  disgust  and  contempt  justly 
invoked  against  the  Federal  Government,  both  under  the  old 
and  the  new  administrations,  for  the  base  and  deceitful  manner 
in  which  they  had  treated  the  loyal  and  law-abiding  people  in 
the  South.  For,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  they  had  failed  to 
afford  them  at  the  proper  time  that  help  and  support  which 
was  within  their  power  to  give.  They  had  in  the  most  imbecile 
manner  withdrawn  or  allowed  to  be  driven  from  the  South 
every  vestige  of  their  authority.  They  would  not  listen  to 
any  representation  which  might  come  from  any  loyal  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  South.  They  had  not  in  the  least 
way  tried  to  check  the  action  of  the  clique  which  had  gone 
through  the  form  of  withdrawing  the  States  from  the  Union, 
and  declaring  them  independent.  They  had  not  shown  the 
slightest  indication  that  they  would  protect  and  support 
the  law-abiding  people  of  the  South  in  maintaining  the 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


123 


constitution  and  the  Union.  The  trifling  and  imbecility  of 
Buchanan’s  Government,  followed  by  the  deceitful  shuffling 
of  Lincoln’s  administration,  could  not  but  provoke  the  disgust 
and  contempt  of  every  law-respecting  person  in  the  South, 
who  now  seemed  unanimously  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
a government  which  would  not  assert  its  authority  by 
maintaining  its  laws  and  protecting  its  citizens  from  the 
dominance  of  unprincipled  politicians  was  no  longer  entitled 
to  respect  or  allegiance.  In  this  I agreed  with  them. 

Third,  Honour.  I had  been  an  active  member  of,  and 
taken  considerable  interest  in,  the  town  volunteer  company  of 
riflemen ; and  to  have  resigned  and  withdrawn  from  it  in  the 
hour  of  danger  would  not  have  been  very  creditable  to  myself 
or  gratifying  to  my  countrymen  in  the  place,  who,  I am  proud 
to  say,  that,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  they  may  be, 
generally  maintain  their  proud  national  feeling  and  veneration 
for  the  honour  of  old  Scotland. 

Fourth,  Love  of  adventure.  Perhaps  there  was  a little  of 
that  feeling  as  set  forth  by  Sir  Walter  Scott — 

“ That  if  the  path's  to  danger  known, 

The  danger’s  self  is  lure  alone.” 

I therefore  concluded  to  remain  with  the  volunteer  company 
of  which  I was  a member  to  see  what  action  they  took. 

The  volunteer  company  of  which  I was  a member,  as  I 
have  related  at  the  seizure  of  the  arsenal,  showed  disaffection 
and  marched  off  the  ground — had  since  that  time  continued  as 
an  ‘‘  independent  company  ” to  maintain  and  increase  their 
efficiency,  and  had  been  still  more  active  in  drilling  and 
attaining  proficiency  and  in  preparing  for  any  emergency. 

When  Mr.  Lincoln  issued  his  war  proclamation,  a meeting 
of  the  company  was  held  to  consider  the  matter.  The  pro- 
clamation was  read  calling  upon  them  to  lay  down  their  arms 
and  submit  unconditionally  to  his  authority  before  the  inva- 
sion of  75,000  men. 

There  was  also  read  and  considered  a call  by  the  Confeder- 
ate Government  for  volunteers  to  serve  for  a period  of  one 
year  in  order  to  resist  the  invasion. 

The  two  propositions  were  before  the  volunteers,  and  they 
must  accept  the  one  or  the  other. 

They  unanimously  agreed  to  ofier  their  services  as  volun- 
teers to  the  Confederate  Government  for  the  period  of  one 
year. 


124 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  offer  was  promptly  accepted  by  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment ; and  this  decision  and  prompt  action  of  the  company 
was  received  with  great  applause  by  the  populace  as  the 
pioneer  company  from  the  district  which  volunteered  their 
services.  And  now  commenced  preparations  in  earnest  for 
outfit  and  departure.  The  dress  uniforms  with  tinsel  and 
feathered  hats  were  thrown  aside,  and  fatigue  or  fighting 
uniforms  and  foraging  caps  substituted.  To  assist  in  the 
equipment  and  outfit  handsome  donations  were  freely  given, 
many  of  them  by  ladies,  so  that  the  company  was  able  to 
volunteer  for  service  fully  armed  and  equipped,  and  requiring 
only  to  be  supplied  with  camp  equipage  and  ammunition. 

I may  here  say  that  as  the  matter  has  reference  to  a volun- 
teer movement,  and  a power,  or  nation,  going  to  war  or 
preparing  to  resist  invasion  with  an  army  composed  entirely 
of  volunteers  (on  this  subject  I will  hereafter  speak),  nothing 
could  exceed  the  avidity  and  enthusiasm  with  which  the  cause 
was  taken  up.  Every  other  object  and  consideration  was  set 
aside,  the  whole  thought  and  conversation  was  centred  in  the 
one  subject.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  seemed  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  aid  and  support  it.  Aged 
men  and  women  furnished  donations  in  money  according  to 
their  circumstances.  Poor  families  set  to  work  in  prepar- 
ing shirts,  underclothing,  stockings,  and  other  necessaries. 
Wealthy  merchants  and  employers,  whose  employees  and 
clerks  would  volunteer  for  service,  made  provision  for  their 
families  or  dependents  by  continuing  their  salaries  during  the 
time  they  volunteered  for  service. 

Mothers  with  tears  in  their  eyes  came  up  with  their  sons  of 
15  and  16  years  of  age,  who  had  been  carried  away  with  the 
enthusiasm,  and  requested  that  they  might  be  accepted  as 
volunteers,  and  handing  them  over  to  the  care  of  the  orderly 
sergeant,  with  no  doubt  many  a sincere  prayer  in  solitude  for 
the  divine  care  and  protection  over  their  offspring.  During 
the  few  days  of  preparation  the  strength  of  the  company  was 
augmented  from  62  to  86,  while  other  two  companies  recently 
formed  had  volunteered  their  services  and  were  preparing  to 
follow. 

As  several  members  of  the  company  were  men  with  families, 
and  many  were  connected  with  business,  they  had  been  busy 
for  the  last  few  days  in  making  arrangements  and  provision 
for  their  households  during  their  absence.  Much  also  had  to 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


125 


be  done  by  those  connected  with  business,  such  as  straighten- 
ing up  books,  squaring  accounts,  signing  powers  of  attorney, 
wills  and  testaments  not  being  forgotten. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  of  April,  1861,  the  Baton  Bouge 
Rifle  Volunteer  Company  embarked  on  a steamer  for  New 
Orleans.  As  may  be  imagined  there  was  a large  crowd 
gathered  to  see  them  ofi*,  and  a unanimous,  and,  I believe, 
sincere  expression  of  a wish  for  their  success,  preservation, 
and  happy  and  speedy  return.  There  were  many  surmises  as 
to  their  future  fate.  Some  were  still  confident  in  their  belief 
that  there  would  be  no  war,  that  it  was  quite  impossible  that 
a civilized  and  highly  enlightened  country  possessing  so  many 
wise  and  talented  men  of  sterling  integrity,  should  be  dragged 
into  a gigantic  and  bloody  civil  war,  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  a few  bloated  politicians.  As  a proof  of  this  confi- 
dence, I will  relate  a little  incident : — 

As  we  were  preparing  to  go  on  board  the  steamer,  I said  to 
one  of  my  partners  who  was  standing  on  the  wharf  with  some 
other  gentlemen  of  the  place,  that  I was  annoyed  at  the  watch- 
maker who  had  been  doing  some  repairs  to  my  watch,  and 
had  not  got  it  ready  as  he  had  promised,  and  I asked  if  he 
would  get  the  watch  when  ready,  and  try  and  send  it  on  to 
me  as  I could  not  well  do  without  it.  Upon  this  an  old 
gentleman  who  was  with  him  pulled  out  a handsome  gold 
watch  and  handed  it  to  me,  saying,  “ Here,  I will  lend  you 
mine.’^ 

“ Lend  me  yours  1 ” said  I,  “ when  on  earth  do  you  expect 
to  see  it  again '?  ” 

‘‘  When  you  come  back,’’  said  he,  pressing  the  watch  upon 
me,  “ and  that  will  be  in  about  four  months.  This  thing,” 
continued  he,  will  never  be  allowed  to  go  on ; there  are 
plenty  of  sensible  men  both  North  and  South  to  put  a stop 
to  this  madness;  Congress  meets  in  July,  and  then  means  will 
be  taken  to  put  things  right.” 

“ I wish  they  had  done  it  sooner,”  said  I,  taking  the  watch 
and  joining  the  company  who  were  now  forming  to  embark. 

I may  say  that  some  eighteen  months  afterwards,  I had  the 
pleasure  of  handing  my  friend  back  his  watch,  when  he  said  he 
would  value  it  the  more  for  the  services  it  had  seen,  and  also 
as  a reminder  of  events  which  had  made  him  a wiser  and  a 
much  sadder  man. 

W^e  were  soon  on  board,  and  the  steamer  backed  out  into 


126 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  middle  of  the  stream  amidst  the  deafening  cheers  of  the 
crowds  on  the  wharf  and  river  bank,  amongst  whom  there 
were  no  doubt  many  anxious  hearts. 

As  this  company  may  be  taken  as  a pretty  fair  sample  of 
the  material  of  which  the  Southern  army  was  composed,  I 
may  give  a slight  description  of  its  composition,  as  my  position 
afterwards  in  the  company  enables  me  to  do  with  some  exact- 
ness. 

Of  the  calling  or  occupation  of  the  different  members  there 
were  : planters,  or  sons  of  planters,  9 ; farmers,  or  sons  of 
farmers,  1 1 ; merchants,  or  sons  of  merchants,  1 1 ; merchants' 
assistants,  clerks,  etc.,  13;  lawyer,  1;  engineers,  4;  carpenters,  4 ; 
painters,  3;  compositors,  3;  bricklayers,  2;  ironmouliers,  2; 
.gasfitters,  2;  sawmillers,  2;  gunsmith,  1;  tailor,  1;  druggist,  1; 
teacher,  1;  carriage  makers,  2;  cabinetmaker,  1;  law  students,  2; 
marble  cutter,  1;  miscellaneous,  8. 

The  total  number  of  the  above  who  owned  slaves,  or  were 
members  of  families  who  owned  slaves,  or  were  in  any  way 
connected  with  or  interested  in  the  institution  of  slavery  was 
31 ; while  the  number  of  those  who  had  no  connection  or 
interest  whatever  in  the  institution  of  slavery  was  55. 

Of  the  nationalities  of  the  above  there  were  : natives  of 
Louisiana  or  other  Southern  States,  47 ; Northern  States,  13; 
Canada,  4;  England,  2;  Scotland,  4;  Ireland,  5;  Germany,  6; 
uncertain,  5. 

As  we  proceeded  down  the  river  it  was  evident  that  our 
presence  on  the  steamer  was  well  known.  It  being  one  of  the 
regular  line  of  steamers  on  the  station,  notice  seemed  to  have 
been  sent  to  the  different  places  along  the  river  where  the 
vessel  was  to  call.  This  was  no  doubt  with  the  view  of  show- 
ing a precedent  and  increasing  the  enthusiasm,  and  stirring 
up  others  to  emulate  us.  Of  course  wherever  the  steamer 
called  we  were  greeted  with  hearty  cheers,  and  in  any  of  the 
places  where  volunteer  companies  existed  these  turned  out  to 
salute  us,  and  to  announce  that  they  would  be  ready  to  follow 
us  in  a few  days. 

When  night  came  on  we  were  treated,  though  in  a very 
slight  degree,  to  one  of  the  privations  which  we  were  to 
undergo  as  soldiers.  Our  meals  had  been  furnished  at  table 
in  the  saloon  with  all  the  usual  luxuriance  for  passengers  on 
those  fine  steamers.  But  state  rooms  of  course  could  not  be 
furnished,  therefore  we  must  pass  the  night  in  soldier  fashion 


THE  SECESSION  MOVEMENT. 


127 


by  rolling  ourselves  in  our  blankets  and  lying  down  on  the 
door  of  the  saloon.  This  was  of  course  made  the  subject  of 
many  a laugh  and  joke,  but  it  was  evident  before  morning 
that  some  felt  the  deck  a little  hard,  and  not  quite  so  comfort- 
able as  the  soft  beds  they  had  been  accustomed  to.  Some 
were  a little  put  out  at  the  want  of  the  usual  convenience  for 
their  morning  ablutions  and  toilet.  But  like  Midshipman 
Easy,  they  were  reminded  that  it  was  ‘‘all  zeal.”  As  we 
approached  New  Orleans,  another  company  of  volunteers 
was  taken  on  board,  and  we  arrived  at  the  city  about 
daybreak. 

The  morning  was  wet  and  stormy,  and  very  unusual  weather 
for  New  Orleans  at  this  season  of  the  year,  and  it  seemed  to 
be  in  accord  with  the  times.  Several  other  steamers  had 
arrived  during  the  night  with  volunteer  companies  from  other 
parts  of  the  State,  and  we  waited  our  turn  to  be  mustered 
into  service,  which  ceremony  was  to  take  place  on  the 
steamer. 

We  did  not  require  to  wait  long  before  Brigadier-General 
Tracy,  who  was  in  command  of  the  troops  in  New  Orleans, 
came  on  board. 

Brigadier-General  Tracy  was  a veteran  of  the  Mexican  war. 
He  was  a little  cross-looking  man  dressed  in  uniform,  and 
wore  a little  red  laced  foraging  cap.  He  had  been  busy 
mustering  in  volunteers  all  morning,  and  his  voice  was  almost 
hoarse  with  calling  out  names  amid  the  howling  of  the 
wind. 

He  took  the  roll-book  from  the  captain  and  cried  out,  “ All 
you  that  volunteer  for  the  Confederate  service  answer  to  your 
names.”  He  then  proceeded  to  call  the  roll,  the  men  answer- 
ing to  their  names.  He  then  closed  the  roll-book,  and  retained 
a copy  of  the  muster-roll,  and  addressing  the  men  said  : “You 
are  now  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  Confederate  States 
for  a period  of  one  year,  unless  sooner  discharged,  and  subject 
to  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  war  ” — this  last  sentence 
being  delivered  with  great  emphasise 

Our  boys,  as  the  members  of  the  company  were  called  and 
by  which  term  I shall  sometimes  hereafter  designate  them 
when  referring  more  to  the  younger  members,  did  not  at  once 
realise  the  importance  of  this  short  ceremony,  and  had  to  be 
reminded  that  they  were  now  under  authority,  and  that  they 
were  no  longer  citizens  but  soldiers ; — that  all  questions 


128 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


pertaining  to  public  matters  and  all  political  subjects  and 
civil  matters  should  now  be  set  aside,  and  every  attention 
given  to  studying  and  becoming  proficient  in  their  duties  as 
soldiers,  and  that  military  matters  alone  should  now  engross 
their  attention. 

Being  now  no  longer  a civilian  but  a soldier  I will  finish  up 
to  this  time  the  account  of  my  observations  of  the  political 
movements  which  led  to  the  secession  of  the  States  and  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  and  devote  myself  entirely  to  military 
matters. 


SECTION  III. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


PERSONAL  NARRATIVE  AS  COMPARED  WITH  OFFICIAL  REPORTS— REMARKS  ON 
THE  VOLUNTEER  SYSTEM, 

To  give  a simple  narrative  of  my  experience  in  a war 
campaign  may  be  supposed  to  be  but  a repetition  of  many 
similar  narratives  given  by  individuals  of  their  personal 
experience,  and  though  such  narratives  may  be  more  the 
personal  feeling  and  observation  of  the  narrator  than 
descriptive  of  the  campaign,  and  may  picture  more  the  real 
than  the  ideal,  still  they  are  necessarily  limited,  and  often  of  a 
very  different  nature,  and  may  appear  tame  and  commonplace 
compared  with  the  carefully  prepared  reports  and  the  more 
glowing  accounts  furnished  by  Special  Correspondents  at  the 
time,  and  which  may  contribute  in  some  degree  to  the 
material  out  of  which  history  is  afterwards  composed. 

The  individual  soldier  is  swallowed  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
turmoil,  and  knows  only  what  is  going  on  around  him ; his 
duties  are  confined  to  a certain  place  or  post,  and  beyond  that 
he  is  supposed  to  see  or  know  nothing ; and  he  can  only 
describe  minutely  and  in  detail  the  movements  of  a small  part 
of  the  campaign. 

The  correspondent  is  supposed  to  look  down  upon  the  whole 
from  a distance,  observing  and  describing  each  body  of  men  as 
units  collectively,  and  armies  and  detachments  as  they  are 
moved  about  apparently  with  as  much  ease  as  men  upon  a 
chess-board. 

There  was,  however,  in  this  war  some  exceptional  circum- 
stances, which  tended  to  favour  the  individual  narrator  more 
than  the  general  reporter. 

In  the  first  place,  the  armies  on  both  sides  were  composed 
of  citizen  soldiers  who,  although  having  for  the  time  resigned 
their  freedom  as  citizens  and  submitted  themselves  as  soldiers 
subject  to  all  duties  and  obedience  under  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  war,  nevertheless  there  was  even  among  the  rank  and 
file  a large  number  of  highly-educated  and  intelligent  men  who 
took  a lively  interest  in  every  movement,  and  through  personal 


132 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


friendship  with  staff  or  field-officers  generally  knew  all  that 
was  proper  to  be  known  of  the  plan  of  the  campaign,  and  took 
opportunity  of  observing  how  every  movement  was  carried 
out ; in  short,  men  from  business  circles,  whose  intelligent  and 
active  minds  required  something  more  to  exercise  them  than 
the  simple  duties  of  the  soldier,  and  from  want  of  having 
anything  else  to  occupy  their  attention,  applied  themselves  to 
the  study  of  the  art  of  war.  They  generally  knew  anything 
that  was  open  to  be  known  of  their  own  army,  and  often  had 
a good  knowledge  of  the  whereabouts  and  strength  of  the 
enemy,  and  could  understand  and  account  for  the  different 
movements. 

The  face  of  the  country  was  a serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of 
obtaining  a bird’s-eye  view  of  the  scene.  This  was  also  a 
serious  impediment  to  generals  in  the  way  of  observing  the 
progress  of  the  action,  and  in  directing  the  movements  of  their 
troops.  Most  of  the  fighting  was  done  in  rough  and  broken 
country,  covered  with  forests  or  tall  brushwood ; and  although 
some  eminence  might  be  found  from  which  an  outline  might 
be  ascertained  of  the  relative  positions  of  the  forces,  still  the 
movements  of  the  men  could  not  be  seen,  and  could  only  be 
judged  from  the  crackling  of  the  musketry  and  the  Smoke 
rising  from  among  the  trees  or  brushwood,  and  the  noise  and 
smoke  indicating  the  position  of  a battery  of  artillery.  It 
was  sometimes  very  difficult  to  distinguish  friend  from 
foe. 

I have  heard  it  jocularly  expressed  in  camp-fire  criticisms, 
that  the  plan  of  a battle  as  given  in  the  official  report  was 
sometimes  formed  after  the  battle  was  over  to  bring  it  in  accord 
with  the  result,  and  that  the  accounts  given  by  the  special 
correspondents  were  but  the  breath  of  the  general  com- 
manding. 

As  regards  the  first  of  these  insinuations,  I do  not  know 
whether  there  may  be  any  just  grounds  for  the  assertion,  but 
I think  there  were  in  this  war  often  cases  where  the  face  of 
the  country  rendered  it  extremely  difficult  for  any  general  to 
ascertain  precisely  the  movements  of  the  enemy’s  forces,  or  to 
have  completely  under  his  eye  the  movements  of  his  own 
troops.  It  is  therefore  inevitable  that  a good  deal  must  be 
left  to  chance,  and  to  the  judgment  of  subordinate  officers, 
and  a good  deal  to  the  men  themselves,  who  very  often  did 
good  work  independent  of  their  officers. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


133 


With  regard  to  correspondents,  in  cases  where  no  letter  or 
communication  was  allowed  to  go  outside  the  lines  without 
being  first  read  and  approved  by  the  provost-martial,  the 
thing  must  speak  for  itself. 

One  of  my  reasons  for  venturing  upon  a short  sketch  of  my 
personal  experience  in  this  war  is  that  it  might  be  a little 
interesting  to  some  on  account  of  the  material  of  which  the 
armies  were  composed.  It  may  be  said  to  have  been  some- 
what difierent  in  this  respect  from  other  great  wars.  The 
armies  of  both  North  and  South,  at  the  commencement  and 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  war,  were  composed  of 
volunteers,  not  altogether  of  raw  undrilled  recruits  suddenly 
picked  up  for  the  occasion,  but  a large  portion  of  them  were 
of  the  numerous  well -drilled  and  well-equipped  volunteer 
companies  which  had  been  in  existence  and  training  for  many 
years  previous  to  the  outbreak  of  hostilities. 

The  regular  standing  army  of  the  United  States  consisted 
only  of  about  12,000  men.  Some  of  them  were  stationed  in 
forts,  and  those  who  took  the  field  were  soon  lost  sight  of  in 
the  immense  provisional  armies  that  suddenly  sprung  up,  and 
were  never  known  after  the  first  campaign,  in  which  they  were 
mostly  all  killed  off. 

Perhaps  I might  plead  my  experience  with  volunteers  in 
actual  warfare  as  an  excuse  for  expressing  my  opinion  on  the 
volunteer  system. 

Those  fastidious  critics  who  speak  disparagingly  of  volun- 
teers, and  can  see  efficiency  only  in  precise  movements,  or 
neatly  performed  evolutions  on  a smooth  lawn  or  open  park, 
might  do  well  to  consider  how  far  these  accomplishments  are 
of  practical  use  in  the  rough  and  ready  movements  required  in 
actual  warfare,  or  how  far  the  parade  movements  can  be  car- 
ried out  in  a wild  country,  amongst  hills  and  ravines,  swamps, 
trees,  brushwood,  and  other  obstructions. 

Count  Moltke  is  said  to  have  spoken  contemptuously  of  the 
armies  of  the  American  Civil  War  as  being  armed  mobs,  of 
which  he  knew  nothing,  and  wished  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with. 

Count  Moltke  is  no  doubt  a great  military  scientist,  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  military  science,  although  a lead- 
ing essential  in  warfare,  exists  only  so  far  as  pre-arranged 
plans  can  be  executed.  And  it  may  be  questionable  how  far 
Count  Moltke  could  have  filled  the  place  of  Lee  or  Grant,  or 


134 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


whether  he  could  with  his  grande  armee  of  levied  troops  have 
carried  out  with  success  a campaign  planned  upon  his  highest 
conception  of  military  science,  amidst  the  forests  and  swamps 
of  America,  in  the  face  of  even  the  smaller  armies  of  rugged 
volunteers  who  fought  in  the  American  Civil  War ; or  whether 
he  could  ever  have  kept  his  army  together  for  four  years  under 
the  same  trying  circumstances  as  the  American  generals  did, 
without  finding  out  that  one  ounce  of  makeshift  was  worth 
many  pounds  of  military  science ; and  that  mutual  willing- 
ness, enlightened  zeal,  and  dogged  determination,  were  better 
qualifications  than  forced  training,  be  that  training  ever  so 
precise  and  efficient. 

I believe,  and  I think  it  has  been  sufficiently  proved,  that 
there  are  no  better  troops  in  the  world  than  the  regular  army 
of  Great  Britain.  But  what  is  the  composition  of  that 
army  ? 

The  British  soldier  is  in  a certain  sense  of  the  word  a volun- 
teer. He  is  not  forced  into  the  service,  he  enlists  voluntarily, 
under  no  other  compulsion  than  a taste  for  military  life  and 
a desire  to  be  a soldier,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
such  men  will  make  the  best  soldiers.  But  such  men  are  few 
in  number,  and  the  percentage  to  be  got  in  a population  is  but 
small,  while  the  remuneration  to  a private  soldier  is  also  small 
compared  to  what  is  obtainable  in  other  pursuits.  Therefore 
it  cannot  be  supposed  that  a large  army  can  be  raised  upon 
the  enlistment  system,  at  least  an  army  sufficiently  large  to 
cope  with  the  great  masses  brought  into  the  field  in  modern 
warfare. 

As  the  system  of  popular  government  extends,  the  question 
may  arise  as  to  how  such  large  armies  are  to  be  raised  and 
maintained. 

In  Great  Britain  the  day  is  gone  past  when  clans  follow 
their  chiefs  to  the  field,  and  although  the  regular  army  under 
the  voluntary-enlistment  system  maintains  itself  well  and  is 
good  and  efficient,  still  the  army  so  raised  is  small  in  numbers, 
and  could  hardly  be  brought  up  by  voluntary  enlistment  to  a 
numerical  strength  sufficient  to  cope  with  the  armies  of  the 
day. 

The  empires  of  Europe,  under  their  difierent  systems  of 
maintaining  their  armies,  can  still  enforce  their  levies,  but  the 
question  arises.  How  long  may  they  be  able  to  do  so  1 

As  popular  governments  extend,  men  may  become  too 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


135 


cunning  to  serve  compulsorily  as  soldiers,  or  be  subject  at  any 
moment  to  be  called  out  to  shed  their  blood  to  gratify  the 
whim  or  ambition  of  a despotic  ruler,  and  they  may  rebel 
against  such  a system. 

Imagine  the  Czar  of  Russia  who  can  now  keep  all  Europe 
on  the  constant  qui  vive.  His  power  rests  entirely  upon  the 
obedience  of  the  masses  to  his  sovereign  will.  Suppose  he 
should  suddenly  find  his  subjects  acting  upon  their  rights  as 
men  in  other  nations,  and  would  no  longer  respond  to  his  call, 
what  a weak  power  his  would  become  ! 

The  immense  levies  brought  into  the  field  under  the  service 
system  of  the  great  European  powers  must  be  composed 
largely  of  men  who  have  neither  taste  nor  desire  to  serve  as 
soldiers,  but  having  no  other  alternative  must  obey  the 
sovereign  edict.  Though  for  form’s  sake  making  a pretended 
show  of  enthusiasm,  still  they  are  in  reality  driven  like  sheep 
to  the  slaughter,  and  unless  through  a semi-barbarous  ignorance 
they  can  be  fired  with  some  fanatic  idea,  there  can  be  no  great 
dependence  placed  in  them.  A victory  obtained  over  an 
enemy  may  inspire  them  with  temporary  enthusiasm,  but 
their  mind  is  not  with  their  duty,  and  the  thought  of  most  of 
them  is  how  they  can  get  clear  of  the  service.  I have  much 
satisfaction  in  the  belief  that  a chief  part  of  the  strength  of 
Great  Britian  and  America  lies  in  their  volunteers,  and  although 
the  system  is  yet  but  in  its  infancy  it  seems  destined  to 
become  the  strong  arm  of  all  civilised  nations,  not  only 
against  foreign  aggression  but  against  despotism  or  anarchy 
at  home. 

Volunteers  are  not  composed  of  the  residuum  of  society,  but 
rather  of  the  elite,  or  of  that  part  which  may  have  a taste  or 
liking  for  the  precision  which  regulates  the  duties  and  habits 
of  the  soldier — men  who  take  a pride  in  undergoing  the 
training,  and  who  would  be  ready  to  take  up  arms  .to  serve  or 
defend  their  country  in  case  of  need,  but  who  would  not  in 
peaceful  times  abandon  other  pursuits  and  resign  their  freedom 
by  enlisting  for  permanent  service.  It  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  such  men  make  the  best  soldiers,  and  from  this  class 
powerful  armies  of  volunteers  might  be  raised  as  provisional 
armies  for  any  emergency.  They  might  not  attain  that  clock- 
work precision  which  looks  so  well  on  parade,  but  which  is 
quite  unnecessary  in  actual  warfare,  but  they  could  be  made 
thoroughly  efficient  for  every  practical  purpose. 


136 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


In  the  volunteer  is  the  material  for  the  soldier.  Their  zeal 
prompts  them  to  study  and  learn  the  tactics  of  the  field. 
Their  intelligence  gives  them  a sense  of  duty,  and  they  know 
that  strict  obedience  is  indispensable,  and  that  obedience  to 
command  is  not  servility. 

They  come  to  know  how  to  handle  their  arms.  They  are 
well  drilled  in  the  Manual,  and  in  the  evolutions  of  the  com- 
pany and  the  battalion,  and  can  perform  them  quickly  without 
confusion,  and  a few  months  or  even  weeks  of  active  service 
will  make  volunteers  the  best  of  soldiers.  Volunteers  come  to 
have  a pride  also  in  their  corps.  It  takes  its  name  from  their 
place  of  residence.  The  honour  of  their  corps  is  identified 
with  the  honour  of  their  homes  in  town  or  country.  From 
this  cause,  should  they  sustain  a defeat  or  a reverse,  they  burn 
until  they  get  a chance  to  retrieve  their  lost  honour. 

I do  not  for  a moment  mean  to  say  that  constant  drill, 
strict  training,  and  the  attainment  of  precise  movements  and 
neatly  performed  evolutions  are  of  no  value.  I consider  them 
of  great  value,  and  particularly  in  a standing  army,  as  being 
conducive  to  the  health  and  physique  of  the  soldier,  as  well  as 
inspiring  him  with  a military  taste  and  pride  in  his  profession, 
while  the  nature  of  the  exercise  fits  him  for  more  arduous 
duties.  To  say  nothing  of  the  moral  effect  drill  may  have  on 
promoting  general  habits  of  smartness  and  self-respect  and 
sense  of  duty,  to  men  who  have  no  other  business  or  occupa- 
tion drill  becomes  indispensable. 

Care  should  be  taken,  however,  that  the  soldier  should 
understand  that  very  strict  precision  is  not  a sine  qud  non  in 
actual  warfare,  and  that  although  in  a severe  struggle,  or  in  a 
rough  country  or  difficult  position  soldiers  may  lose  their  places, 
or  their  company  get  mixed  in  the  battalion,  or  the  battalion  in 
the  brigade,  they  are  not  to  consider  themselves  demoralised  or 
out  of  command.  I have  seen  a brigade  as  completely  mixed  up 
as  if  showered  from  the  clouds,  and  still  preserve  a line,  repel 
cavalry,  and  hold  their  position.  My  opinion  may  be  of  little 
value,  but  I think  volunteers  are  destined  to  be  the  army  of 
the  future.  The  system  is  based  upon  the  principle  of  giving 
effect  to  the  military  spirit  of  the  land,  and  in  training  for 
military  service,  at  a trifling  cost,  the  best  men  to  be  found  for 
soldiers,  without  compromising  their  liberty  or  interfering 
with  their  regular  avocations  as  citizens.  A powerful  army 
may  thus  be  kept  up  at  little  or  no  expense,  composed  of  men 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


137 


of  good  moral  standing  who  possess  a taste  for  the  use  of 
arms,  and  who  could,  in  a case  of  emergency,  be  made  a 
strong  defence  of  the  nation,  and  thus  dispensing  with 
the  necessity  of  forcing  into  service  against  their  will  men 
who  have  neither  the  spirit  nor  the  inclination  to  act  as 
soldiers. 

To  such  men  as  possess  a desire  to  become  volunteers,  this 
narrative  of  my  experience  may  be  a little  entertaining  if  not 
instructive. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


VOLUNTEERS  IN  ACTUAL  SERVICE — DUTIES  OF  AN  ORDERLY  SERGEANT- 
DISQUALIFICATIONS  OF  AN  ALIEN— CAMP  WALKER— FIRST  TASTES  OF  CAMP 
LIFE — ROUGHING  IT  — CAMP  DUTIES  AND  REGULATIONS — MIXTURE  OF 
SOCIETY — ZEAL  AND  PROGRESS  IN  TRAINING — INCIDENTS — ORGANISATION 
OP  THE  THIRD  LOUISIANA  REGIMENT— MARCHING  ORDERS. 

Having  now  been  mustered  into  the  service,  and  having 
become  a part  of  the  army  of  the  Confederate  States,  a copy 
of  the  army  regulations  was  handed  to  us,  and  we  were  ordered 
to  Camp  Walker,  the  camp  of  instruction. 

Our  baggage,  which  consisted  of  a company  mess  chest  and 
some  boxes  of  company  property,  was  sent  ashore,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  we  should  remain  for  a few  hours  in  the  city  to 
give  time  for  camp  equipage  being  sent  to  Camp  Walker  for 
the  different  companies  which  had  that  morning  arrived. 

The  company  was  then  formed,  and  we  landed  from  the 
steamer  to  march  to  the  City  Hotel,  where  we  were  to  wait 
until  things  were  ready  for  us.  As  we  proceeded  towards  the 
hotel,  one  was  reminded  of  ScotPs  picture  of  Edinburgh  before 
Elodden,  for — 

“ As  through  the  bustling  streets  we  go, 

All  was  alive  with  martial  show.” 

On  every  side  all  was  preparation  for  war.  On  the  day 
previous  the  first  regiment  from  Louisiana  had  departed  north- 
wards to  join  the  army  of  Virginia,  and  a second  was  being 
organised  and  preparing  to  follow.  All  commercial  business 
was  suspended.  The  extensive  wharfs  along  the  river  which 
were  wont  to  be  crowded  with  vessels  discharging  cargo  or 
loading  with  cotton  were  deserted.  The  ships  had  all  cleared 
out  in  consequence  of  the  ‘‘  notice  of  blockade.” 

The  extensive  cotton  presses  fronting  the  wharfs  were  all 
silent  and  shut  up,  and  nothing  seemed  in  motion  but  the 
preparations  for  war.  The  streets  resounded  with  the  sound 
of  the  fife  and  the  drum  as  different  volunteer  companies  pro- 
ceeded to  the  camp  of  instruction.  Carts  and  waggons  moved 
hither  and  thither  laden  with  army  stores.  Xewly  erected  or 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


139 


extended  factories  were  busily  manufacturing  gun  carriages, 
caissons,  and  tumbrils,  and  converting  cotton  waggons  and 
drags  into  army  waggons. 

The  constant  rattle  of  steam-driven  sewing  machines  from 
many  buildings  announced  the  extensive  manufacture  of  sad- 
dlery equipments,  tents,  and  army  clothing,  while  officers  and 
men  in  plain  uniforms  and  thoughtful  countenances — many  of 
them  accompanied  by  their  wives — were  seen  going  in  and 
out  of  shops  purchasing  a few  articles  to  take  with  them 
which  they  supposed  would  conduce  to  their  health  and  com- 
fort during  their  life  in  camp.  Some  officers  were  to  be  seen 
of  the  more  dandified  type,  in  gaudy  uniforms  and  gay  expres- 
sions in  their  countenance.  These  were  of  the  zealous  and 
gallant  fire-eating  class,  who  had  got  appointments  in  the 
different  departments,  and  were  more  generally  seen  in  the 
cities  kissing  their  hands  to  ladies,  than  in  the  camp  or  field 
ditching  a tent,  or  digging  a rifle  pit. 

Having  marched  from  the  wharfs  and  through  several 
streets  we  arrived  at  the  City  Hotel,  where  a sumptuous 
breakfast  was  prepared  for  us,  and  a large  room,  or  hall, 
provided  for  our  accommodation  until  ready  to  proceed  to 
camp. 

While  here  it  was  thought  expedient  before  going  into 
camp  to  have  the  company  fully  organised. 

The  standard  complement  of  officers  and  non-commissioned 
officers  for  a company  of  infantry  was  : one  captain,  two  lieu- 
tenants, one  orderly-sergeant,  four  duty-sergeants,  and  four 
corporals.  It  had  always  been  the  rule  among  volunteer  com- 
panies for  the  members  of  the  company  to  elect  their  officers. 
But  now  by  the  ‘‘  army  regulations  ’’  it  was  pointed  out,  that 
although  the  members  of  the  company  might  still  elect  their 
officers,  yet  no  appointment  would  be  confirmed  unless  the 
candidate  passed  an  examination,  and  was  found  duly  quali- 
fied and  approved  of  by  the  brigade  commander.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  apply  to  officers  who  held  their  appointments 
before  the  company  was  mustered  into  service. 

It  so  happened  that  our  orderly  sergeant  was  the  son  of  the 
captain,  and  as  the  latter  carried  on  an  extensive  business,  it 
was  necessary  that  he  should  remain  at  home  to  attend  to  the 
business  ; he  therefore  had  not  volunteered,  but  he  had  con- 
tinued to  act,  and  had  accompanied  the  company  thus  far,  but 
was  now  about  to  take  his  leave  and  return  home.  The  office 


140 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


of  orderly-sergeant  was  therefore  vacant.  In  the  American 
service  this  is  rather  an  onerous  position  in  the  company,  and 
I who  was  then  third-duty-sergeant  was  selected  for  the 
post,  and  was  examined  for  competency  before  a board  of 
officers.  I passed  satisfactorily,  but  in  the  course  of  the 
examination  it  came  out  that  I was  an  alien,  and  not  a 
citizen.  This  was  against  me,  but  after  some  consultation  it 
was  considered  that  as  the  office  was  not  commissioned  I 
might  pass,  and . the  appointment  was  approved.  I was,  how- 
ever, given  to  understand  that  I could  attain  no  higher  posi- 
tion, and  could  not  hold  a commission  until  I became  a citizen; 
and  they  advised  me  to  get  the  preliminaries  done  at  once,  as 
it  would  take  some  time  to  consummate  it,  unless  a special 
dispensation  of  the  rules  was  granted. 

They  then  handed  me  a copy  of  the  “ army  regulations  ” for 
my  guidance  as  orderly-sergeant,  and  specially  directed  my 
attention  to  a clause  which  read  thus  : No  foreigner  shall 
hold  any  office  under  the  United  States  Government,  either 
by  commission  or  otherwise,  unless  he  be  a citizen  of  the 
United  States;’’  the  same  regulations  being  adapted  for  the 
Confederate  States,  with  the  simple  alteration  of  the  word 
“ United  ” being  obliterated,  and  the  word  Confederate  ” 
substituted. 

I had  already  determined  that  I would  never  forswear  or 
renounce  my  allegiance  to  Queen  Victoria,  to  become  a citizen 
or  subject  of  any  foreign  power,  nor  would  a commission  in 
the  Confederate  service  now  tempt  me.  I had  volunteered  my 
services  for  one  year,  and  that  I would  fulfil  as  far  as  lay 
in  my  power.  I will  now  give  a slight  description  of  the 
duties  of  an  orderly-sergeant  as  it  was  in  the  United  States 
service  at  that  time. 

He  held  the  rank  of  sergeant-major,  his  pay  was  equal  to 
one-and-a-half  that  of  the  first  duty-sergeant.  He  was  the 
general  executive  officer  of  the  company.  He  was  secretary 
of  the  company,  and  was  allowed  a clerk.  He  went  on  no 
special  detachments,  or  guard  duty,  except  in  cases  of  emer- 
gency. He  kept  the  roll-book,  and  all  other  books,  papers  or 
accounts  of  the  company.  He  was  accountable  for  the  men 
present  or  absent.  He  returned  every  morning  to  the  adju- 
tant a report  of  the  state  and  efiective  force  of  his  company. 

He  made  out  all  requisitions  for  rations,  ammunition,  arms, 
or  camp  equipage,  and  all  other  requirements.  He  had  charge 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


141 


of  all  the  company  property,  and  reported  on  its  condition. 
He  inspected  the  tents  and  company  camp  ground,  and 
saw  that  it  was  properly  formed  and  ditched,  and  inspected 
the  sanitary  arrangements.  His  signature  must  be  the  first, 
and  followed  by  that  of  the  captain,  on  all  company  requisi- 
tions and  reports.  He  called  the  roll  at  reveille,  and  noted 
absentees  and  delinquents,  punished  for  slight  ofiences,  and 
reported  more  serious  ofiences.  He  gave  certificates  to  men 
who  wished  to  apply  for  leave  of  absence.  He  detailed  all 
men  for  guard,  and  detachments  for  special  service,  and 
appointed  police  guards  for  the  day.  He  reported  the  sick  to 
the  surgeon,  and  saw  them  attended  to.  He  marched  up  to 
the  colour  line,  and  handed  over  to  the  adjutant  all  details 
for  special  service  and  guard  duty.  • He  drilled  all  squads,  and 
the  company  in  absence  of  the  commissioned  officers.  He  took 
his  place  on  the  right  of  the  company,  and  acted  as  guide.  He 
went  to  the  front  and  centre  at  parade  and  heard  the  orders 
read.  When  in  front  of  the  enemy,  he  was  generally  informed 
privately  of  the  programme,  and  of  the  movements  to  be  made. 
While  the  duty  sergeants  were  designated  by  their  respective 
names  as  Sergeant  T.  or  Sergeant  H.,  he  was  designated  as 
the  Sergeant,  and  was  regarded  as  the  ruling  power  of  the  com- 
pany when  on  active  service.  With  all  these  duties  to  perform, 
it  may  be  imagined  that  I had  sufficient  to  keep  me  from 
repining. 

Our  boys,  who  had  been  allowed  a few  hours  to  stroll  about 
the  city,  had  been  ordered  to  report  back  at  two  o’clock,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  reported  at  that  hour ; in  fact  all  of  them 
except  one  or  two  who  came  up  shortly  afterwards,  and  we 
prepared  to  march  out  to  tlie  camp,  which  was  about  two 
miles  out  of  the  city. 

Camp  Walker,  which  had  formerly  been  the  racecourse  of 
New  Orleans,  was  situated  on  what  was  considered  the  highest 
level  of  the  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  New  Orleans, 
although  it  was  very  difficult  to  observe  any  difierence  from 
the  dead  level  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  very  highest 
part  of  which  was  only  a few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
The  place  was  of  an  oval  shape,  and  about  a mile  and  a-half  in 
circumference,  and  enclosed  by  a close-boarded  wall  about  12 
feet  high,  with  several  gates  and  doors  for  admission.  About  40 
feet  inside  of  this  wall  was  the  course,  which  was  lined  on  each 
side  by  a low  but  strong  wooden  paling.  The  location  might  be 


142 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


deemed  to  be  anything  but  healthy,  surrounded  by  swamps 
teeming  with  rank  vegetation,  through  which  were  deep  ditches 
filled  with  the  drainage  from  New  Orleans,  as  it  moved 
sluggishly  towards  Lake  Pontchartrain.  Within  the  enclosure 
the  ground  had  been  cleared  of  the  rank  grass,  but  the  soil 
was  soft  and  marshy,  and,  rendered  more  so  by  the  heavy  rain 
which  still  continued  to  fall  and  by  the  carting  in  of  supplies, 
was  stirred  into  a soft,  tenacious,  black  mud. 

Here  were  stationed  some  3,000  men  under  canvas.  One 
regiment  had  been  organised  and  sent  off,  another  was  organ- 
ised and  prepared  to  leave,  and  fresh  companies  were  pouring 
in  daily. 

Our  company  marched  in  through  one  of  the  gates  at  which 
there  was  a strong  guard  stationed,  and  through  which  no 
one  could  pass  out  again  without  a pass  or  countersign. 

We  were  then  joined  by  a quarter-master-sergeant,  who 
conducted  us  to  the  spot  which  was  to  be  our  company  camp 
ground. 

It  was  not  inviting.  A black  soft  soil  with  mud  and  pools 
of  water  here  and  there.  The  plan  of  the  camp  was  roughly 
laid  out.  The  rights  of  companies  were  to  rest  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  course,  the  left  to  extend  towards  the  centre  of  the 
vacant  ground  inclosed  by  the  course;  the  officers^  quarters 
on  the  opposite  or  outside  of  the  course,  where  were  also  the 
staff-quarter-master’s  and  commissary  departments.  Every- 
thing had  been  got  up  hurriedly. 

The  company  here  stacked  arms,  and  a look  was  cast  from 
one  to  another  as  much  as  to  say.  How  do  you  like  it? 
Nothing  was  said  for  a little,  but  it  was  evident  from  the 
faces  of  many  that  they  did  not  relish  the  prospect.  Fortu- 
nately there  are  always  some  spirits  who  can  turn  the  blackest 
side  of  things  into  a laugh,  and  our  company  was  favoured 
with  a fair  share  of  such.  After  a short  silence  a loud  laugh 
broke  from  several  of  the  boys. 

“ Well,  boys,  how  do  you  like  it?” 

“ What  do  you  think  of  it  now  ? ” 

‘‘  Well,  I).,  is  your  zeal  beginning  to  flag?” 

‘‘  T.,  are  you  beginning  to  wish  you  were  home  again  ? ” 

“ This  is  the  first  of  soldiering.” 

“ But  here  comes  the  waggon  with  the  tents,  and,  oh  my, 
we  are  going  to  have  carpets.” 

This  last  observation  was  in  reference  to  a load  of  boards 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


143 


which  was  thrown  down  to  lay  on  the  floor  of  the  tents  to 
keep  the  men  ofi‘  the  wet  ground.  The  tents  were  now  being 
delivered,  and  the  object  of  the  boys  was  to  get  as  many  as 
possible  for  the  company,  and  as  orderly  sergeant  I was  called 
upon  by  the  past  quarter-master  to  make  out  a requisition, 
signed  by  myself  and  the  captain,  for  all  tents  and  camp 
equipage  required  and  received,  which,  by  the  army  regula- 
tions, should  be  done  before  anything  is  delivered. 

I had  to  remind  him  that  I had  neither  material  nor  conve- 
nience to  write,  which  elicited  the  rule  that  the  orderly 
sergeant  is  entitled  to  a tent  for  himself  which  he  is  supposed 
to  use  as  the  oflice  of  the  company  and  store  for  the  company 
property.  This  procured  for  me  a fine  large  marquee-tent, 
and  as  most  of  the  other  tents  were  not  of  a uniform  size,  the 
number  of  men  to  each  tent  could  not  be  strictly  regulated, 
so  the  company  contrived  to  get  a pretty  fair  supply  of  tents, 
including  one  for  the  cooking  department.  The  men  having 
already  formed  themselves  into  messes,  the  lines  were  marked 
pfi*  and  the  tents  pitched,  some  of  the  men  who  were  already 
drilled  in  the  pitching  of  tents  instructing  the  others. 

In  the  meantime  I had  been  to  the  quarter-master’s  depart- 
ment and  obtained  the  necessary  forms  for  requisitions,  which 
I filled  up  for  camp  equipments : 20  tents,  86  bed-sacks, 
10  camp  kettles,  22  mess-pans,  12  water-pails,  two  picks, 
four  spades,  three  axes,  one  saw.  Many  other  requisites  the 
company  provided  out  of  their  own  funds.  As  was  afterwards 
experienced,  the  question  was  not  so  much  the  obtaining  of  the 
articles,  as  the  difficulty  of  getting  them  carried  along  owing 
to  the  limited  means  of  transport. 

These  articles  being  obtained,  ditches  were  cut  round  the 
tents  as  far  as  possible  to  lead  away  the  water,  while  boards 
were  cut  up  and  laid  on  the  ground  inside  of  the  tents  where 
the  bed-sacks  were  to  be  laid.  A load  of  hay  was  brought 
up — it  could  not  have  been  very  dry  owing  to  the  weather ; 
but  the  bed-sacks  were  filled  with  it  and  put  into  the 
tents,  also  the  arms  and  knapsacks.  The  rain  still  continuing, 
it  was  evident  that  the  first  night  in  camp  was  likely  to  be 
rather  cheerless. 

Hunger  beginning  to  be  felt,  the  next  question  was  the 
prospect  of  getting  anything  to  eat.  If  rations  were  issued 
where  were  the  means  of  cooking?  Some  mess-pans  were 
there,  but  where  was  the  fuel  to  make  a fire,  or  would  a fire 


144 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


burn  on  the  wet,  muddy  ground  under  the  drenching 
rain? 

Such  were  the  questions  asked  by  some.  Others  would 
answer  by  crying  out,  You  will  learn  how  to  shift  before  six 
months  are  past  (and  this  was  verified). 

The  next  cry  was  water — 

“ Water,  water,  everywhere. 

But  not  a drop  to  drink.  ” 

This  created  more  laughter  and  joking,  and  it  was  astonish- 
ing to  see  how  joking  and  banter  kept  away  despondency. 
Some  were  soon  over  among  the  other  companies  finding  out 
how  they  got  on,  where  they  discovered  that  carts  were  con- 
stantly going,  supplying  the  camp  with  water  and  wood  for 
fuel.  Therefore,  to  keep  a look-out  for  these  carts  was  the 
next  object.  Soon  a cart  was  turned  into  the  camp  with  a load 
of  firewood,  and  not  long  after  another  cart  with  a puncheon 
of  water  was  espied  and  captured,  and  forced  into  the  company 
parade  ground  against  the  protestations  of  the  driver,  who  had 
designed  it  for  some  other  company.  As  no  rations  were  to  be 
served  out  that  night,  a barrel  of  biscuits  was  sent,  opened  and 
placed  in  the  kitchen  tent,  which  the  men  might  eat  at  will. 
All  this  passed  off  with  considerable  good  humour  as  something 
of  an  adventure. 

But  the  great  grievance  of  the  service  was  now  realised. 
The  greater  part  of  the  men,  not  yet  quite  relishing  for  dinner 
and  supper  a hard  biscuit  and  a cup  of  Mississippi  water, 
thought  that  now  their  camp  was  pitched  and  the  duties  of 
the  day  over,  and  being  wet  with  the  rain,  they  would  take  a 
walk  into  town,  and,  having  plenty  of  money,  they  w’ould  be 
able  to  get  a hot  meal  at  a restaurant,  but  they  were  much 
taken  aback  when  they  learned  that  they  could  not  pass  out  of 
the  camp  without  a written  pass  during  the  day,  or  at  night 
without  the  countersign,  which  was  only  given  to  commissioned 
officers.  This  seemed  to  be  the  greatest  grievance  of  the 
service,  and  caused  a great  deal  of  grumbling,  and  many  a 
device  was  adopted  to  get  round  it.  It  was  a proper  and  a most 
indispensable  regulation,  but,  like  many  other  regulations,  it 
was  often  oppressive  upon  the  law-abiding  portion,  while  the 
more  lawless,  on  account  of  whom  it  was  imposed,  generally 
found  some  plan  to  evade  it.  It  was  less  oppressive  so  far 
that  a pass  was  seldom  refused  to  a well-behaved  man  if  no 
duties  intervened,  and  there  was  no  danger  or  outside  cause  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


145 


make  it  imprudent  to  allow  men  to  go  out  of  the  camp  at 
any  time,  however,  but  a limited  number  could  get  at  a time. 
On  this  particular  occasion  all  wanted  to  go,  and  the  diffi- 
culty was  to  select  who  should  be  favoured  without  showing 
partiality.  As  it  was  given  them  to  understand  that  leave  of 
absence  would  go  by  rotation,  many  postponed  their  application 
to  another  time,  on  the  understanding  that  as  no  sutler  was 
yet  in  the  camp,  a few  men  would  be  detailed  to  go  to  the  city 
and  return  immediately,  and  would  purchase  for  the  company 
what  articles  they  might  want  to  furnish  a repast,  including 
ground  coffee,  sugar,  soft  bread,  boiled  ham,  some  candles,  and 
a suggestion  was  made  to  add  four  bottles  of  whisky,  which 
was  allowed.  The  men  were  detailed  and  sent  off  with  injunc- 
tions to  return  quickly,  and  some  got  leave  of  absence. 

It  was  now  getting  dark,  the  rain  had  ceased,  wood  was 
split  up  and  a large  camp-fire  lighted,  and  two  camp-kettles  filled 
with  water  and  set  on  to  boil.  In  the  meantime,  staff  officers 
had  come  round  to  inquire  the  strength  of  the  company  and 
give  the  usual  orders.  The  commissioned  officers  having  gone 
to  the  city,  a copy  of  the  “camp  regulations’’  was  handed  to 
me,  and  another  posted  up  at  the  officers’  tent. 

A sergeant-major  shortly  afterwards  came  round,  and  made 
a requisition  for  men  for  guard  on  the  following  day,  one 
sergeant,  one  corporal,  and  six  privates.  I also  received  a 
form  of  “ morning  report  ” to  be  filled  up  every  morning,  and 
delivered  to  the  camp  adjutant,  showing  the  full  state  and 
strength  of  the  company  — “present  for  duty,”  “absent,” 
“ sick,”  or  on  “ detached  service.” 

The  men  soon  returned  from  the  city  with  the  provisions. 
The  water  in  the  camp-kettles  was  boiling,  plenty  of  ground 
coffee  is  tumbled  into  it,  and  we  have  two  large  camp-kettles 
of  coffee;  spoons  and  tin-cups  are  got  from  the  mess-chest,  and 
we  enjoy  a good  supper  of  hot  coffee,  bread,  biscuit,  and  ham. 
The  commissioned  officers,  who  had  now  returned  from  the  city, 
came  and  joined  us.  The  bottles  of  whisky  were  opened,  and 
each  man  had  a dram,  after  which  we  were  much  revived ; 
more  fires  were  kindled,  and  round  them  we  stood  and  dried 
our  wet  clothes,  smoked  and  chatted,  and  were  even  happy  on 
the  muddy  ground  round  the  camp  fires. 

At  nine  o’clock  the  “ tattoo  ” sounded,  the  company  was 
formed,  and  the  roll  called.  All  answered  to  their  names 
except  those  absent  on  leave.  As  lights  must  now  be  put  out, 

K 


146 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  men  crawled  into  their  tents,  and  stretched  themselves  on 
their  damp  hay  pallets,  with  a thin  board  between  them 
and  the  wet,  muddy  ground,  each  observing  that  they  thought 
the  carpeted  floor  of  the  steamer  on  the  previous  night  to  be 
hard,  but  it  was  a luxury  compared  to  this.  Laughing,  joking, 
and  chaffing  each  other,  however,  kept  them  in  good  humour. 

Having  with  the  commissioned  officers  walked  along  the 
rows  of  tents  and  seen  that  all  lights  were  out,  although  we 
could  hear  plenty  of  laughing  and  noise  within,  we  went  to 
the  right  of  the  company  where  my  tent  stood. 

‘‘  W.,”  said  the  captain,  “ I see  you  have  got  candles  ; that 
is  a thing  that  I forgot  to  get  to-day,  and  the  orderly  sergeant 
is  allowed  a light  in  his  tent  after  tattoo.  Have  you  anything 
to  sit  upon  ? ” 

‘‘  Yes,”  said  I,  ‘‘  plenty  of  boxes  with  the  company  property. 
Come  in.” 

I lighted  a candle  and  stuck  it  into  the  neck  of  one  of  the 
whisky  bottles,  and  placed  it  on  a box,  and  we  all  found  seats, 
and  cigars  were  lighted. 

The  captain  was  a man  about  50  years  of  age.  He  had 
long  been  captain  of  the  company,  and  took  some  care  over 
the  younger  members,  many  of  whom,  as  will  be  seen,^were 
mere  lads.  He  was  a Northern  man  by  birth,  but  had  been 
nearly  30  years  in  Baton  Rouge,  where  he  carried  on  an 
extensive  business.  The  first  lieutenant  might  be  about 
32  years  of  age.  He  was  a native  of  Kentucky,  an 
engineer  by  profession,  but  had  devoted  much  of  his  study  to 
military  matters,  had  been  long  an  officer  of  volunteers,  was 
an  excellent  drill  officer,  and  was  well  versed  in  military 
matters. 

The  second  lieutenant  was  about  28  years  of  age. 
He  w^as  a native  of  Scotland,  but  had  come  to  the  United 
States  when  a boy.  His  father  had  been  a sergeant  of  artil- 
lery, and  had  long  held  a post  in  the  garrison  at  Baton 
Rouge. 

“ I think,”  said  the  captain,  the  boys  must  have  got  a 
sickener  to-day,  but  I am  glad  to  see  that  they  still  keep  up 
their  spirits.” 

“ I am  glad,”  said  I,  “ that  they  got  it  at  the  first  start, 
when  they  are  full  of  enthusiasm,  as  it  will  show  them  what 
they  have  to  undergo,  and  what  follows  will  come  easier  upon 
them.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


147 


“ All  will  be  easier  in  the  way  of  camping  at  all  events/’ 
said  the  first  lieutenant,  “ for  I do  not  think  it  possible  that 
they  can  ever  be  in  a worse  place  for  camping,  and  I wonder 
why  a better  place  could  not  have  been  selected  for  a camp 
than  this  soft  swamp.” 

“There  is  no  better  place  in  the  neighbourhood  of  New 
Orleans,”  said  the  captain,  “ all  is  low  flats  for  miles  and  miles 
around,  the  nearest  high  and  dry  land  is  at  Baton  Bouge.” 

“Why  could  they  not  have  made  the  camp  of  instruction 
there?”  said  the  second  lieutenant,  “there  are  lots  of  fine  high 
and  dry  land  with  fine  shady  trees,  besides  the  beautiful 
garrison  grounds.” 

“ Oh  ! you  want  to  be  near  home,  John,”  said  the  captain 
laughing.  “ It  would  no  doubt  be  a better  place  for  a camp, 
but  this  is  the  centre  and  head-quarters,  but  I do  not  think  we 
will  remain  long  here.” 

“How  long  do  you  think  we  will  remain  here.  Captain?” 
said  the  second  lieutenant. 

“ Oh,  I do  not  know,”  said  the  captain,  “ but  I hope  not 
long;  that  will  depend  upon  our  efficiency.  I was  talking  with 
the  adjutant-general  to-day,  the  second  regiment  is  made  up, 
and  leaves  to-morrow  or  next  day,  and  we  are  entered  for 
third,  but  there  are  about  26  companies  on  the  list  for  it,  and 
the  10  most  efficient  will  be  selected.” 

“ Then  I am  not  afraid,”  said  the  first  lieutenant,  “ for  I 
don’t  think  there  is  a company  in  the  State  can  beat  us,  except 
perhaps  some  companies  of  the  Washington  artillery.” 

“ I don’t  think,”  said  the  captain,  “that  there  are  any  of  the 
Washingtons  on  the  list  for  the  third  regiment.  A good 
many  of  them  are  gone  already,  but  some  of  these  companies 
from  Bed  river  are  very  good,  and  some  of  them  are  on  the 
list.  And  there  are  some  of  our  boys  who  last  joined  are  still 
behind,  so.  Sergeant,  you  must  try  your  best  to  get  them 
drilled  up  to  the  mark.” 

“ Where  is  the  second  regiment  going  to  ? ” said  the  second 
lieutenant. 

“ Oh,  they  don’t  know  themselves,”  said  the  captain,  “ and 
that  we  won’t  know  when  we  go;  we  will  be  put  on  railway  or 
steamer  with  sealed  orders  to  be  opened  at  a certain  place, 
and  then  it  will  be  to  report  to  General  So-and-So.” 

“ What  light  is  that  ? ” said  a voice  at  the  door  of  the  tent. 

“ Officers’  tent,”  answered  the  captain. 


148 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Tis  in  the  wrong  place,  then,”  said  the  patrol  officer.  “ It 
should  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  colour  line.” 

‘‘  Tis  the  orderly-sergeant’s  tent,”  said  I ; “ officers  in  it  on 
business.” 

“ All  right,”  said  the  patrol  officer,  and  passed  on. 

‘‘You  were  wrong,  there.  Captain,”  said  the  first  lieutenant. 

“ Yes,”  said  the  captain,  “ that  is  true.  I have  not  seen 
any  camp  regulations.” 

“ I have  got  a copy  of  them,”  said  I,  “ and  there  is  another 
pinned  to  the  door  of  your  tent.  There  were  none  of  you  there 
when  the  quarter-master  sergeant  came  round.” 

“ I did  not  observe  them,”  said  the  captain.  “ What  are 
they  ? Can  you  read  them  ? ” 

I produced  them  and  read — 

“ Regulations^ — Camp  Walker. 

“ The  reveille  will  be  sounded  at  5 a.m.,  and  all  beds  shall 
be  folded  up  and  tents  aired  immediately  after  roll-call. 

“ The  breakfast  call  shall  be  at  6 a.m.,  which  shall  be  the 
hour  for  breakfast. 

“ The  sick  call  shall  be  at  7 a.m.,  when  all  sick  shall  be 
reported  to  the  surgeon. 

“ Company  parade  grounds  shall  then  be  inspected,  and  put 
in  proper  order. 

“ The  call  for  guard  mounting  shall  be  at  half-past  seven,  a.m., 
when  the  relieving  guard  shall  assemble  on  the  colour  line, 
and  guard  mounting  shall  be  at  8 a.m. 

“ Squad  drill  shall  commence  at  half-past  eight  A.M.,  and 
company  drill  at  half-past  nine  a.m. 

“ Twelve  o’clock  shall  be  the  hour  for  dinner. 

“ Battalion  drill  shall  be  ordered  at  4 p.m.,  and  dress  parade 
at  5 P.M. 

“ The  tattoo  shall  be  at  9 p.m.,  and  lights  out  at  half -past 
nine  p.m. 

“ By  order  of  Brig.  Gen.  Tracy.” 

“That  is  all  plain  enough,”  said  the  captain. 

“ There  is  one  thing  plain  enough,”  said  the  second  lieuten- 
ant, slapping  the  back  of  one  hand  with  the  other,  and  slapping 
his  forehead,  “ that  we  are  going  to  be  eaten  up  with  these 
cursed  mosquitoes  (the  smoking  having  stopped  they  were  in 
the  tent  in  thousands),  they  will  be  very  bad,  and  I don’t 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


149 


see  how  we  are  going  to  stand  them,  we  will  get  no  sleep 
at  all.’^ 

“We  must  just  get  bars,”  said  the  captain,  “ I see  they  have 
got  them  in  most  of  the  other  tents.” 

“ What  kind  are  they  ? ” 

“ Oh,  you  will  get  them  of  all  kinds,  some  big  enough  to  fill 
the  whole  tent,  and  may  be  suspended  from  the  ridge  poll. 
There  are  others  for  one  person  about  18  inches  broad, 
with  a stick  across  each  end  to  keep  them  stretched  out.  You 
tie  a string  to  the  centre  of  the  stick,  and  suspend  them  from 
two  sticks  stuck  into  the  ground,  these  are  very  cheap,  and  I 
believe  that  by  taking  a number  they  could  be  got  for  less 
than  half  a dollar  each.” 

“ Then  let  us  get  some  of  them  by  all  means,”  said  I,  “ as  I 
expect  to-morrow  morning  there  will  be  some  fine  complaints 
about  the  ‘ cussed  varmints ! ’ ” 

“ Then,”  said  the  captain,  “ to-morrow  you  had  better  get  a 
list  of  all  the  men  that  want  them,  and  just  go  into  town  and 
get  them.  You  better  see  to  that.  Lieutenant  J.,  as  I expect 
the  sergeant  will  have  enough  to  do  about  the  camp  to-morrow.” 
And  the  officers  left  to  go  to  their  own  tent. 

Having  laid  two  boards  across  some  boxes,  I laid  my  hay 
pallet  on  them,  using  as  a pillow  a box  of  ammunition  which 
we  had  brought  with  us.  (Our  rifles  being  dififerent  from  the 
smooth  bore  muskets  then  in  use,  we  carried  our  own  cartridges 
with  us.)  Having  laid  my  coat  on  this  I lay  down,  and, 
being  well  fatigued,  would  soon  have  been  asleep,  but  the 
light  burning  in  the  tent  had  attracted  the  mosquitoes, 
and  the  tent  had  become  a perfect  hive  of  them.  I tried 
to  drive  them  out  with  my  coat,  but  to  no  purpose.  I 
tried  again  and  again  to  sleep,  but  they  swarmed  in  myriads 
on  my  face  and  hands,  and  even  stung  me  through  my  cloth- 
ing. At  last  I thought  of  the  cartridges,  and  lighting  the 
candle  I unscrewed  the  lid  of  the  box,  and  taking  out  two  or 
three,  I screwed  on  the  lid  again.  Taking  the  powder  of  two 
of  the  cartridges,  I laid  it  on  a piece  of  paper  on  the  floor  in 
the  centre  of  the  tent,  and  taking  a ramrod,  tied  a piece  of 
paper  to  the  end  of  it,  and  lighting  the  paper  at  the  candle,  I 
stood  at  the  door  of  the  tent  and  stretched  out  and  touched 
ofi*  the  powder.  There  was  a soft  explosion  which  flamed 
through  and  shook  the  whole  tent,  and  put  out  the  light  in 
my  hand,  and  left  the  tent  full  of  smoke.  I feared  the  guard 


150 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


would  have  been  down  upon  me,  as  the  smoke  was  rising  from 
the  tent.  They  did  not,  however,  seem  to  have  observed  it. 
When  the  smoke  subsided  a little,  I went  in  and  lit  the 
candle,  saw  there  was  no  damage  done,  and  not  a mosquito  to 
be  seen  or  heard. 

I blew  out  the  candle  and  lay  down,  thinking  that  I had 
made  a discovery  for  the  destruction  of  mosquitoes  worth  a 
patent,  and  was  considering  whether  I should  not  go  and  see 
how  my  poor  comrades  were  faring,  and  give  them  the  benefit 
of  my  discovery,  when  I dropped  asleep,  and  seemed  to  be 
immediately  afterwards  awakened  by  the  reveille. 

It  was  just  grey  daylight,  I had  slept  soundly  and  was  much 
refreshed,  the  mosquitoes  had  not  returned,  but  the  tent  had 
still  the  smell  of  the  powder.  I jumped  up,  loosened  and  shook 
well  my  clothes,  put  on  my  boots  and  coat,  and,  stepping  out 
on  to  the  parade  ground,  called  out  the  order  to  “fall  in.” 
The  men  began  to  emerge  from  their  tents,  and  form  on  the 
company  parade  ground.  When  the  music  ceased,  I gave  the 
order,  “ Attention  to  roll-call.”  When  the  roll  was  called,  the 
names  of  those  who  were  to  go  on  guard  were  called,  also 
those  who  were  to  be  the  “ police  guard  ” for  the  day.  Ranks 
were  then  broken,  and  the  men  set  to  washing  their  faces ; 
many  of  them  had  been  fearfully  bitten  by  the  mosquitoes, 
some  declaring  that  they  had  never  closed  an  eye.  Some  were 
laughing  at  their  comrades  being  marked,  not  knowing  that 
they  were  as  badly  marked  themselves. 

The  beds  were  rolled  up,  and  the  sides  of  the  tents  turned 
up,  while  swarms  of  mosquitoes  issued  from  the  tents.  The 
rain  seemed  to  be  all  over,  and  as  it  was  the  1st  of  May,  there 
was  every  probability  of  it  being  fine  weather  now  for  a while. 
The  cooking  utensils  were  divided  among  the  difierent  messes, 
and  a corporal  and  two  men  of  the  police  guard  were  sent  with 
a requisition  to  draw  rations  at  the  commissary  store.  Fires 
were  lit,  and  some  rough  boards  knocked  together  to  form 
tables. 

It  was  astonishing  how  quickly  the  boys  learnt  to  forage 
and  make  shift ; some  had  already  managed  to  procure  frying- 
pans  and  other  extras.  The  men  returned  from  the  commissary 
stores  with  part  of  the  rations,  having  had  their  first  quarrel 
with  that  curse  of  all  armies,  the  commissary. 

Some  bacon  was  fried  and  coffee  made,  and  a rough,  but 
well-relished,  breakfast  was  got  through.  The  men  were  now 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


151 


ordered  to  attend  to  the  first  duties  of  the  soldier,  and  see  that 
their  arms  and  accoutrements  were  in  good  order,  as  they  must 
have  sufiered  from  the  wet  on  the  previous  day ; and  there  was 
guard  duty,  squad  and  company  drill,  at  all  of  which  arms 
would  be  inspected.  By  this  time  the  men  who  had  got  leave 
of  absence  on  the  previous  evening  returned.  They  had  leave 
to  be  out  all  night,  but  to  report  in  the  morning  before 
‘‘guard  mounting.”  It  was  rather  an  extended  leave  of 
absence  to  be  away  all  night,  but  in  this  case  it  was  excep- 
tional, it  being  the  first  night  in  camp,  and  want  of  due 
provision  for  them.  Those  who  had  spent  the  night  in  camp 
were  facetiously  claiming  seniority  over  them,  as  having 
passed  one  night  in  the  “ tented  field,”  and  received  their  first 
scars,  pointing  to  the  mosquito  marks  on  their  faces. 

It  might,  however,  have  been  better  for  the  peace  of  mind 
of  one  of  them  at  least  who  went  out  on  leave  had  he  remained 
in  camp  that  night,  but  of  this  I will  speak  hereafter. 

At  seven  o’clock  the  sick-call  sounded,  but  as  yet  we  had  no 
sick  to  report. 

At  half -past  seven  o’clock  came  the  call  for  guard  mounting. 
“ Fall  in  guard”  was  now  the  order,  and  the  men  detached 
for  guard  assembled  on  the  company  parade  ground.  Having 
inspected  them,  I marched  them  up  to  the  colour  line  and 
handed  them  over,  with  a list  of  their  names,  to  the  sergeant- 
major,  who,  seeing  that  the  full  number  from  each  company 
was  there,  handed  them  over  to  the  adjutant,  who  inspects 
them  and  hands  them  over  to  the  “ lieutenant  of  the  guard  ” 
in  presence  of  the  “ officer  of  the  day.” 

Guard-mounting  over,  I make  out  my  morning  report  and 
hand  it  in  to  the  adjutant.  I then  take  out  the  young  recruits 
for  squad  drill  for  about  an  hour,  and  then  assemble  the  com- 
pany for  company  drill. 

Knowing  that  there  is  much  to  be  done  in  camp  to-day  the 
company  drill  is  cut  short,  and  they  return  to  camp  about 
half -past  ten  o’clock.  The  weather  is  now  beautiful,  the  sun 
is  strong,  with  a light  breeze,  and  the  ground  is  drying  fast. 
Tents  are  ordered  to  be  struck,  boards  taken  up  to  allow  the 
ground  to  dry,  bed-sacks  are  opened  and  the  damp  hay  turned 
out  to  dry,  and  blankets  and  all  other  articles  of  clothing  are 
turned  out  to  dry.  Ditches  round  tents  are  dug  deeper,  and 
the  soil  thrown  upon  the  site  of  the  tents  and  trodden  smooth 
so  as  to  raise  the  floors  a little  above  the  level  of  the  surround- 


152 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


ing  ground.  This  plan  of  striking  the  tents  and  exposing  the 
site  to  dry  was  done  often  in  good  weather,  and  greatly 
improved  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  camp. 

All  the  men  wishing  to  purchase  mosquito  bars  are  desired 
to  give  their  names  to  the  second  lieutenant,  who  goes  to  the 
city  with  some  men  of  the  police  guard  to  purchase  and  bring 
out  certain  articles,  and  everyone  is  ordered  to  make  arrange- 
ments as  he  best  can  for  his  personal  comfort. 

After  dinner  a sergeant-major  came  round  with  orders.  No 
battalion  drill  to-day,  but  dress  parade  at  5 p.m.  in  front  of 
the  “ Grand  Stand.” 

There  was  now  an  hour  or  two  of  leisure,  which  the  men 
employed  as  they  pleased,  and  the  mosquito  bars  and  other 
articles  having  come  they  were  distributed  and  got  ready  for 
use.  I got  a rough  writing-table  knocked  together  and  a bench 
long  enough  to  serve  for  both  a seat  and  bed  along  one  side  of 
my  tent. 

At  5 P.M.  the  call  was  sounded  for  “ dress  parade.”  This  of 
course  could  not  be  a regimental  parade,  as  we  had  not  yet 
been  organised  into  any  regiment,  but  merely  a few  companies 
got  together  to  form  a temporary  battalion  for  the  purpose  of 
battalion  drill. 

As  our  company  had  had  but  little  experience  in  training 
beyond  the  school  of  the  company,  manoeuvring  in  a battalion 
would  be  comparatively  new  to  us,  and  we  knew  the  experience 
of  the  other  companies  would  be  still  less ; we  therefore 
expected  to  see  a little  confusion ; however,  it  was  only  a dress 
parade,  and  if  the  adjutant  knew  his  duty  it  might  be  got 
through  easy  enough. 

I had  been  earnestly  perusing  ‘‘  Hardie’s  Infantry  Tactics,” 
and  studying  the  “ School  of  the  Battalion,”  and  preparing  the 
company  for  battalion  drill.  I had  another  advantage.  We 
had  in  our  company  three  members  who  had  formerly  been  in 
the  ‘‘  regular  army  of  the  United  States.”  One  of  these  was  a 
thorough  soldier,  and  had  been  a drum  major.  He  was  a 
Scotchman  by  birth,  a native  of  Kelso.  He  had  been  nearly 
all  his  life  a soldier  by  choice,  and  he  had  been  about  nine 
years  in  the  United  States  army.  This  man  knew  every  tactic 
and  regulation,  and,  being  my  countryman,  was  always  ready 
to  instruct  me  or  explain  anything  I wished  to  know.  We 
marched  up  and  took  our  place,  and,  so  far  as  the  limited 
evolutions  of  a dress  parade  gave  us  any  opportunity  of  dis- 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


153 


playing  our  efficiency,  we  imagined  at  least  that  we  had 
acquitted  ourselves  very  well,  and,  though  less  in  numerical 
strength  than  any  of  the  other  companies,  we  were  more 
efficient  in  drill,  and  we  had  great  hopes  that  we  would  be 
included  in  the  next  regiment  to  be  organised  and  sent  off, 
which  was  our  main  desire  and  object. 

When  the  orderly  sergeants  went  to  the  front  and  centre  to 
make  verbal  reports  of  the  state  of  their  companies  I had  been 
instructed  by  my  Scotch  friend  how  to  report,  as  some  con- 
fusion and  fun  was  anticipated.  There  were  in  all  10  com- 
panies, and  my  place  was  near  the  centre. 

The  adjutant  addressing  the  sergeant  on  the  right  ordered 
him  to  report.  The  man,  who  had  evidently  never  before  been 
on  a battalion  parade,  was  somewhat  confused,  and  did  not 
seem  to  understand  what  was  wanted  of  him.  After  some 
stammering  he  said  he  had  sent  in  his  report  in  the  morning. 
This  caused  a little  laughter,  with  the  peremptory  order  of. 
Silence  in  the  ranks  ! ” He  was  told  that  he  must  now  make 
a verbal  report  of  the  state  of  his  company.  He  could  not 
exactly  remember,  but  the  adjutant  helped  him  through,  and 
told  him  he  must  be  better  prepared  at  next  parade. 

The  second  man  had  pulled  out  of  his  pocket  his  roll  book, 
but  was  told  he  must  not  produce  a roll  book  on  parade,  that 
he  must  have  always  the  state  of  his  company  in  his  mind 
ready  to  report  at  a moment’s  notice.  He  was  also  helped 
over  the  fence  by  the  adjutant,  and  cautioned  to  be  better 
prepared  in  future. 

The  third  man  boldly  stepped  forward. 

“ Keep  your  place,”  said  the  adjutant. 

The  man  stepped  back  into  his  place,  bowed  an  apology,  and 
began  to  explain  that  as  this  part  of  the  duty  was  not  a part 
of  the  company  duty,  and  as  no  notice  that  such  a 

“ I don’t  want  a speech,”  cried  the  adjutant,  who  was  now 
beginning  to  lose  his  patience.  ‘‘  Let  me  have  your  report.” 

‘‘  But,”  said  the  man,  determined  to  vindicate  his  position. 

“ Let  me  have  no  ‘buts,’  but  report.” 

“ What  will  I say  ? ” 

“ Say  anything  you  like,  but  report.” 

“Well,  Sir,  if  you  will  just  allow  me ” 

“ That  fellow  must  be  a lawyer,”  I heard  some  one  whisper 
in  the  ranks  behind  me. 

“ And  the  adjutant  a judge,”  said  another. 


154 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


A titter  passed  along  the  line. 

‘‘  Silence  in  the  ranks!”  thundered  the  adjutant,  as  he  passed 
on  to  the  fourth  man  not  wishing  to  create  a scene. 

The  fourth  was  little  better  prepared,  but  was  helped  over 
and  instructed  like  the  others.  I guessed  number  three  was  a 
lawyer  or  a politician,  and  the  conjectures  were  correct,  he 
was  a lawyer,  and  a glib  one  too. 

All  this  time  I was  conning  in  my  mind  how  well  I would 
make  my  report,  which  was  ready  on  my  tongue ; and  salut- 
ing, I said,  ‘‘  Baton  Rouge  Rifles,  aggregate  85,  present  78,  rest 
accounted  for.” 

“ That  is  the  right  kind  of  report  to  make,”  said  the  adju- 
tant, turning  to  the  others. 

He  then  passed  to  number  six,  the  man  on  my  left,  who 
reported  with  an  ease  and  precision  which  showed  him  to  be  a 
thorough  military  man. 

‘‘  That  is  better  still,”  said  the  adjutant,  passing  to  number 
seven. 

The  latter  was  a mere  lad,  just  from  a military  school,  but 
whose  every  look  betokened  frolic  and  mischief.  He  called 
out  with  a smile  and  an  air  of  confidence — 

“ Company  present  and  accounted  for.” 

This,  however,  did  not  satisfy  the  adjutant,  who  perhaps 
thought  he  detected  a trace  of  the  regardless,  and  sternly  told 
him  it  would  not  do ; he  must  give  the  aggregate  number,  and 
the  number  present  on  parade.  He  quickly  gave  it,  although 
he  told  me  afterwards  that  he  did  not  know  but  merely 
guessed  it,  as  he  knew  that  the  adjutant  would  not  take  the 
trouble  to  count  them.  The  remaining  three  got  through 
tolerably  well,  and  the  next  order  was,  ‘‘  Attention  to  orders.” 

The  “ general  orders  ” read  out  on  parade  were  generally 
awaited  with  some  eagerness,  and  were  like  the  last  news  to 
the  troops  as  to  their  future  movements  or  destination.  On 
this  occasion,  however,  they  were  of  little  interest,  being  only 
something  about  how  the  ‘‘  ofiicer  of  the  day  ” should  wear  his 
sash  that  he  might  be  distinguishable,  and  pointing  out  a 
certain  field  outside  of  the  camp  to  be  used  for  battalion  drill. 
The  parade  was  then  dismissed,  and  we  marched  back  to 
camp. 

It  was  now  near  six  o’clock.  It  had  been  a beautiful  day, 
and  the  camp  ground  and  all  our  equipage  had  finely  dried. 
Orders  were  given  to  pitch  tents  again ; and  everything 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


155 


being  now  dry  was  put  back  into  its  place.  Beds  again  filled 
with  the  now  dried  hay,  and  the  mosquito  bars  fixed  up,  and 
everything  about  the  camp  had  a much  more  comfortable  and 
cheerful  appearance  than  on  the  previous  night,  the  different 
messes  got  their  fires  lighted  and  proceeded  to  cook  supper.  I 
may  here  observe  that  at  this  camp,  and  at  this  time,  the 
men  fortunately  did  not  require  to  trust  entirely  to  the  com- 
missary ; they  had  money  of  their  own,  and  plenty  of  articles 
of  food,  and  other  necessaries  were  now  being  exposed  for  sale 
in  and  about  the  camp  and  easily  obtainable,  although  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  cooked  food  or  pastries  was  not  allowed, 
or  at  least  not  encouraged,  it  being  desirable  that  the  men 
should  learn  to  cook  and  provide  for  themselves. 

After  supper,  the  time  was  pleasantly  spent  round  the  camp 
fires,  smoking,  talking  on  different  subjects,  story-telling,  singing, 
joking,  card-playing,  and  other  amusements,  and  occasional 
visits  from  friends  in  other  companies,  until  tattoo  sounded, 
when  the  company  was  again  formed,  the  roll  called,  and 
then  lights  out  and  off  to  sleep. 

Such  is  a sketch  of  how  our  first  day  in  camp  was  passed, 
and  it  may  be  taken  as  a general  sample  of  them  all. 

I retired  to  my  tent,  which  was  now  fitted  up  and  comfort- 
able, made  up  my  roll-book,  marked  ofi*  the  names  of  the  men 
to  be  detailed  for  guard  and  other  duties  on  the  following 
morning,  entered  in  the  company-book  list  of  the  quarter- 
masters’ stores  received,  and  names  of  the  captains  of  messes 
to  whom  they  were  delivered,  made  out  requisition  for  rations 
for  the  following  day,  and  then  got  under  the  mosquito  bar 
and  slept  soundly  until  reveille  sounded. 

On  the  second  day  the  routine  was  pretty  much  the  same, 
except  that  more  time  and  attention  were  given  to  drill — our 
company  getting  outside  of  the  camp  to  practise  skirmish  drill, 
in  which  it  was  tolerably  proficient,  and  in  the  afternoon 
we  had  battalion  drill. 

On  the  third  or  fourth  day  of  our  camp  life,  an  incident 
occurred  of  rather  a melancholy  nature,  which  cast  for  a short 
time  a sort  of  gloom  and  reserve  over  the  members,  and 
checked  for  a time  their  joviality.  I have  already  referred  to 
one  of  the  members  who  got  leave  of  absence,  and  went  into 
the  city  on  the  first  night  of  camping,  and  for  whose  future 
peace  of  mind  it  might  have  been  better  had  he  remained 
in  camp.  In  the  earlier  part  of  this  book  I gave  an  account 


156 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


of  a conversation  I heard  in  a cafe  in  Baton  Bouge,  on  the  eve 
of  and  regarding  the  proposed  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter, 
and  of  some  very  able  remarks  made  by  a Mr.  S.,  then  a strong 
Union  man,  and  one  of  whose  sons  joined  our  company  after- 
Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation.  Young  J.  S.  was  one  of 
those  who  obtained  leave  of  absence  on  the  night  referred  to. 

On  the  third  or  fourth  morning  after  our  encampment,  he 
came  to  me  immediately  after  roll-call,  and  asked  me  to  give 
him  a clear  pass  from  duty  or  default  in  order  that  he  might 
obtain  leave  to  go  to  the  city  for  an  hour  or  two  on  some  very 
urgent  business  connected  with  his  father.  As  he  was  not  on 
any  detail  or  special  duty,  and  had  no  marks  against  his  name, 
I readily  did  so,  as  far  as  I was  concerned,  but  I reminded  him 
that  it  was  but  a short  time  since  he  had  leave  of  absence,  and 
perhaps  the  captain  would  remind  him  of  that,  and  as  the 
“corns.’’  (as  we  called  the  commissioned  officers)  were  still 
asleep,  the  “ old  man  ” (as  we  called  the  captain)  might  be 
cross  and  refuse  him.  He  said  he  would  plead  the  urgency  of 
the  case,  and  taking  the  pen  and  ink  with  him  so  that  the 
captain  might  sign  the  pass  without  getting  up,  he  proceeded  to 
the  officers’  tent.  In  a few  minutes  he  came  running  back 
with  the  pen  and  ink,  thanked  me,  and  said  it  was  all  right. 
I thought  I saw  a wildness  in  his  eye.  I asked  if  it  was  all 
well  with  his  father ; he  said  it  was  all  well,  and  started  off 
quickly  towards  the  camp  gate.  About  half-past  nine  he 
returned  and  reported  to  me  as  I was  forming  the  company 
for  drill.  He  got  his  rifle,  and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  as 
usual. 

In  the  afternoon  the  news  was  circulated  in  the  camp  that 
a duel  had  been  fought  that  morning  about  a mile  from  the 
camp,  and  that  a young  physician  of  New  Orleans,  the  son  of 
an  eminent  gentleman  in  Baton  Rouge  had  been  killed  by  a 
volunteer  from  one  of  the  companies  at  Camp  Walker.  The 
truth  immediately  flashed  upon  me,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
the  report  was  confirmed. 

It  seemed  that  on  tlie  night  in  question  when  J.  S.  was  out 
on  leave  he  had  met  with  this  young  physician  at  a cafe. 
There  had  been  some  feud  between  their  families,  and  an  alter- 
cation ensued  and  some  offensive  epithets  applied  by  the 
physician  to  the  father  of  J.  S.  led  to  a challenge,  with 
the  result  as  stated.  The  matter  was  quietly  talked  over 
among  the  officers,  but  they  could  take  no  action ; he  had  not 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


157 


broken  his  leave,  Tlie  alffair  took  place  outside  of  the  camp 
and  beyond  their  jurisdiction.  It  was  a matter  for  the  civil 
authorities.  But  such  things  were  so  common  that  the  civil 
authorities  seldom  interfered,  and  the  thing  passed  over  and 
was  scarcely  noticed  in  the  excitement  of  the  times. 

Our  captain,  however,  was  much  put  about ; he  had  a great 
regard  for  the  ^roung  man  that  was  killed ; he  never  forgave 
J.  S.,  and  wished  him  out  of  the  company  as  a rash  and 
impetuous  young  man  who  might  give  us  some  trouble,  which 
was  to  some  extent  verified.  J.  S.  returned  to  his  duty  without 
ever  saying  a word  of  the  matter,  and  the  subject  was  never 
mentioned  in  the  company ; but  he  was  morose  and  silent,  and 
seemed  to  concei^^e  an  idea  that  the  company  rather  shunned 
him,  and  he  was  very  apt  to  fly  up  at  anything  which  he  thought 
was  like  a slight  or  insult.  He  seemed  to  feel  his  position  much, 
and  I rather  felt  for  him,  and  tried  to  show  as  little  reserve 
and  be  as  free  and  easy  with  him  as  possible.  He  seemed  to 
appreciate  this,  and  was  exceedingly  submissive  and  obedient 
to  me  and  attentive  to  his  duty. 

We  got  very  quickly  inured  to  camp  life.  It  was  astonish- 
ing how  readily  the  boys  learnt  to  shift  for  themselves  and 
continued  to  add  to  their  conveniences  and  comforts. 

All  the  while  new  companies  of  volunteers  from  all  parts  of 
the  State  were  daily  pouring  into  the  camp.  These  were 
mostly  newly-raised  companies,  and,  of  course,  were  raw  and 
undrilled.  They  were  composed  chiefly  of  men  of  good  and 
high  standing,  wealthy  planters’  sons,  sons  of  merchants, 
bankers,  and  other  business  men  from  the  other  towns  in  the 
State,  professional  men  and  students  in  abundance,  all  intent 
on  showing  their  zeal  in  the  great  cause  by  serving  as  private 
soldiers,  which  Mrs.  Grundy  for  the  time  being  had  declared 
to  be  the  highest  and  most  honourable  position  that  a man  and 
a true  patriot  could  fill  Aspirations  to  any  higher  office,  even 
to  that  of  a corporal,  would  in  a measure  detract  from  the  zeal 
displayed.  Their  whole  desire  was  to  be  trained,  drilled,  and 
made  into  good  soldiers,  and  I must  do  them  the  justice  to  say 
that  they  applied  themselves  most  earnestly  to  learn  their 
duties. 

Drill  sergeants  were  now  in  great  demand,  and  although  a 
great  many  of  the  young  men  of  the  South  were  trained  in 
military  schools,  still  drill  officers  were  at  a great  premium. 

I had,  besides  my  own  company  duties,  often  to  assist  in 


158  LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARl^Y. 

outside  duties  in  drilling  raw  companies.  l|b  was,  however,  a 
pleasure  so  far,  as  they  were  most  assiduous  :|n  their  desire  to 
learn.  Many  had  provided  themselves  with  books  of  instruc- 
tion, and,  after  being  instructed  in  the  different  movements  in 
the  manual,  would  continue  to  practise  them  in  their  leisure 
hours. 

I have  already  referred  to  a fine  body  of  volunteers  belong- 
ing to  New  Orleans  called  the  Washington  A rtillery.  I may 
here  observe  that  in  the  American  service  all  artillery  corps 
also  acted  as  infantry.  A finer  body  of  men  than  the  Wash- 
ington Artillery  I have  never  seen,  and  fcr  discipline  and 
efficiency  I have  yet  to  see  them  surpassed  even  in  the  armies 
of  Europe.  I wonder  where  they  are  now.  I fear  few  of 
them  survived  the  war.  Most  of  this  corps  had  already  gone 
to  the  front,  and  of  those  that  remained  the  officers  were  most 
useful  in  assisting  to  carry  out  the  stafi'  duties  of  the  camp. 
Besides  the  ordinary  company  and  battalion  drill,  much  had 
here  to  be  taught  in  the  way  of  field  and  staff  duties,  such  as 
camp  forming,  pitching  and  striking  of  tents,  rolling  away  and 
stowing  into  waggons,  post  and  guard  duties. 

The  number  of  men  in  the  camp  had  now  increased  to  six 
or  seven  thousand.  The  camp  was  enlarged  and  extended, 
and  in  order  to  train  the  men  well  to  guard  duty,  a large 
number  of  posts  were  created  so  as  to  give  employment  to  a 
large  guard.  Many  of  these  posts  were  quite  unnecessary, 
and  were  maintained  merely  with  the  object  of  training  the 
men  to  guard  duty. 

So  many  men  in  the  youth  and  prime  of  life,  of  high  cul- 
ture and  education,  of  so  many  classes  and  professions,  thus 
suddenly  taken  away  from  their  ordinary  business  pursuits, 
and  comfortable  and  luxurious  homes,  to  be  converted  into 
soldiers,  and  thrown  together  within  the  limited  space  of  a 
camp,  with  all  its  roughing  experiences,  was  an  incident  of  no 
ordinary  kind,  and  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  many  a device 
was  resorted  to  to  maintain  levity  and  keep  away  ennui. 

The  eager  desire  to  acquire  proficiency  no  doubt  absorbed  a 
large  portion  of  the  men’s  time,  and,  though  constant  drill  and 
frequent  guard  duty  were  imposed  to  keep  them  employed, 
even  that  must  be  intermixed  with  a little  variety,  and  many 
difierent  kinds  of  amusement  were  got  up  to  pass  the  time  and 
keep  them  all  lively. 

But  by  far  the  greatest  hardship  to  endure  was  the  confine- 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


159 


ment  to  the  camp ; beside  this  all  others  were  joked  at  as 
trifles,  and  many  a scheme  was  devised  to  get  away  from  the 
place  without  going  through  the  special  formality  of  awaiting 
their  turn  and  getting  permission.  The  requisite  to  pass  the 
guard  was  by  day  commissioned  oflicer  or  written  pass,  and  by 
night  the  countersign.  The  countersign  being  given  at  night 
to  all  commissioned  officers,  who,  if  granting  leave  of  absence 
to  any  of  their  men  in  place  of  a written  pass,  at  night  fur- 
nished them  with  the  countersign. 

Of  the  many  devices  used  to  get  out  of  camp  at  night,  I will 
give  one  specimen. 

I have  said  the  camp  had  been  extended.  It  embraced 
a large  building  which  had  been  used  as  a hotel  during  the 
races,  and  was  now  used  as  stafi*  head-quarters.  From  this 
building  were  several  walks  leading  through  various  gates  into 
the  enclosed  racecourse,  which  had  formed  the  original  camp. 
These  gates  had  at  first  been  closely  guarded  by  sentinels, 
but  now  the  whole  of  them  with  the  outside  buildings  were 
enclosed  in  the  camp,  and  the  entire  place  was  guarded  by  an 
outer  line  of  sentinels.  These  posts  were  completely  enclosed  in 
the  camp,  and  it  was  quite  unnecessary  to  guard  them. 
However,  seemingly  with  the  view  of  creating  plenty  of 
sentinel  duty,  they  were  still  kept  guarded  during  the  day, 
and  at  night  sometimes  they  were  guarded  and  sometimes  they 
were  not,  according  to  the  whim  of  the  officer  of  the  day. 

In  the  company  next  to  ours  there  was  a scapegrace  whom 
I shall  call  Ben.  If  ever  this  meets  his  eye  he  will  know  who 
I mean.  Ben’s  demands  for  leave  of  absence  had  been  so 
frequent,  and  his  abuse  of  leave  had  been  so  marked,  that  his 
leave  was  stopped  altogether.  Ben  observed  one  night  that 
one  of  those  inner  gates  had  been  left  without  any  sentinel. 
He  immediately  goes  to  his  tent,  gets  his  musket,  and  takes 
his  station  at  the  gate  waiting  for  a fish. 

By-and-by  a commissioned  officer  approaches  going  towards 
the  stafi*  head-quarters. 

‘‘  Halt ! who  goes  there  ? ” exclaimed  Ben. 

‘‘A  friend  with  the  countersign,”  was  the  reply. 

“ Advance  and  give  the  countersign.”  Ben  comes  to  ‘‘arms 
aport,”  bends  forward  to  receive  the  countersign,  which  the 
officer  gives  in  a low  tone — 

“ South  Carolina.” 

“ All  right ; pass  on,”  said  Ben,  coming  to  “ shoulder  arms.” 


160 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  officer  passes  on,  and  Ben  having  obtained  the  counter- 
sign, leaves  the  sinecure  post  to  take  care  of  itself,  goes  to  his 
tent,  lays  by  his  musket,  dresses,  passes  the  outer  guard  by 
giving  the  countersign,  makes  for  the  city,  taking  care  to  be 
back  to  camp  before  reveille.  Ben  managed  to  carry  out  his 
plan  for  several  nights,  but  was  at  last  found  out.  The  thing 
was  not  without  its  good  effects,  as  it  taught  the  officers  to  be 
more  careful  in  placing  guards  at  night. 

Our  company,  which  had  been  well  trained  in  skirmish  drill, 
bayonet  exercise,  and  other  accomplishments,  had  now  been 
inspected,  and  declared  not  only  efficient  but  a crack  company, 
was  entered  for  the  third  regiment  which  was  being  made  up 
of  the  10  most  efficient  companies  in  camp,  and  we  were  all 
rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of  getting  away  from  Camp  Walker, 
although  we  had  not  the  least  idea  of  where  we  would  be  sent. 

About  10  days  after  we  went  to  Camp  Walker,  our  captain 
came  to  my  tent  and  told  me  that  the  third  regiment  ha  i now 
been  organised,  of  which  we  would  be  the  right  flank  company  ; 
that  he  would  be  leaving  the  company,  having  obtained  the 
appointment  of  major  of  the  regiment ; and  that  it  would  likely 
be  a general  promotion  forward.  The  first  lieutenant  would  be 
captain,  the  second  lieutenant  would  be  first  lieutenant,  and 
that  I certainly  should  be  second  lieutenant,  but  for  that 
stumbling-block  about  citizenship.  Would  I not  alter  my 
mind,  and  declare  my  intention  to  become  a citizen,  and  the 
difficulty  could  be  got  over  ? I still  declined.  He  urged  me 
to  think  well  over  the  matter.  In  the  meantime,  he  told  me 
to  let  the  first  duty  sergeant  take  my  place  to-morrow,  and 
come  with  him  into  the  city  after  guard  mounting,  as  he  wished 
to  collect  some  money  which  had  been  promised  as  donations 
to  the  company  fund  by  some  of  the  wealthy  merchants,  and  if 
I would  reconsider  my  determination,  and  declare  my  inten- 
tions to  become  a citizen,  he  would  go  with  me  to  General 
Tracy  and  see  about  getting  the  matter  arranged. 

On  the  following  day  we  went  to  the  city,  and  on  calling  at 
some  of  the  offices  of  the  merchants  referred  to,  the  principals 
were  not  there,  business  being  about  suspended.  Some  of 
them,  however,  were  expected  to  be  in  about  one  o’clock,  but 
the  captain,  having  to  go  to  head-quarters,  could  not  then  caD. 
A note  was  left,  and  it  was  arranged  that  I should  call  about 
that  time.  I called  as  arranged,  saw  the  principals,  and  got 
cheques  for  the  money. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


161 


On  coming  out  from  one  of  those  offices  in  Carondelet  Street, 
something  attracted  my  attention  which  called  back  old 
memories.  It  was  the  British  ensign,  waving  from  a building 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  which,  on  looking  closer  at, 
I saw  to  be  the  office  of  the  British  consul.  This  flag  I had 
not  seen  for  some  years,  as  it  is  never  seen  back  from  seaports, 
or  higher  up  the  river  than  New  Orleans.  There  was  some- 
thing in  the  sight  at  this  time  which  awakened  in  me  strange 
feelings,  and  if  ever  I had  entertained  the  slightest  thoughts 
of  renouncing  my  allegiance  to  Great  Britain,  they  were  now 
dispelled,  and  I determined  to  adhere  to  the  old  flag.  This 
trifling  incident,  however,  somewhat  damped  my  ardour  in  the 
cause  I had  embraced;  and  the  same  day  I heard  of  the 
Queen’s  proclamation  warning  all  her  subjects  to  remain 
neutral,  and  denying  protection  to  any  that  should  take  up 
arms  on  either  side.  I felt  a little  dull,  and  on  my  way  back 
to  camp,  I could  not  help  reflecting  on  the  rash  step  I had 
taken,  which  seemed  to  sever  me  farther  than  ever  from  any 
home  associations,  and  to  place  me  in  a rather  singular  position. 
It  was,  however,  now  too  late  to  retract,  and  I must  take  my 
chance  for  a year  at  all  events.  The  active  duties  of  my  office 
gave  me  little  time  for  reflection. 

The  same  evening  there  was  a dress  parade  of  the  newly- 
formed  regiment,  and  the  organisation  of  the  3rd  Regiment  of 
Louisiana  Volunteers,  with  the  names  of  the  field  officers  to 
command  it  were  read  out  in  ‘‘  general  orders.” 

The  colonel  was  a graduate  of  West  Point,  was  a thorough 
military  man,  and  had  been  General  of  the  State  militia,  and 
also  State  engineer. 

The  lieutenant-colonel  was  a veteran  colonel  of  volunteers 
who  had  served  in  the  Mexican  war.  The  major  was  our  late 
captain.  These  constituted  the  field  officers  of  a regiment 
according  to  the  regulations.  The  commissioned  staff  consisted 
of  an  adjutant,  a quarter-master,  a commissary,  and  a surgeon. 

The  office  of  captain  in  our  company  was  now  vacant.  The 
first  lieutenant  was  promoted  to  captain,  the  second  lieutenant 
to  first  lieutenant,  and  we  were  ordered  to  elect  a second 
lieutenant.  This  office  fell  to  a member  of  the  company  who 
was  acting  as  private,  a young  lawyer,  who,  though  not  having 
great  experience  in  military  matters,  had  a good  military 
education,  and  was  a hard-working  and  intelligent  man,  and 
very  popular  in  the  company,  and  the  appointment  was 

L 


162 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDEKATE  ARMY. 


approved.  The  regiment  was  now  fully  organised,  and 
battalion  drill  was  gone  into  with  great  vigour. 

Our  company  was  much  inferior  in  numerical  strength  and 
physique  to  the  other  companies  composing  the  regiment. 
They  were  mostly  from  the  northern  part  of  the  State  and 
composed  of  fine  stalwart  men,  and  many  of  the  companies 
were  over  a hundred  strong.  They  were  armed  with  smooth- 
bore muskets  of  the  newest  pattern,  that  being  the  arm  then 
generally  in  use.  Our  company  of  lighter  material  was  armed 
with  Springfield  rifles  and  sabre  bayonets.  They  greatly 
excelled  the  other  companies  in  drill  and  general  training,  and 
they  were  a little  vain  of  their  accomplishments  and  liked  to 
display  them.  This,  however,  stirred  up  the  other  companies 
to  exertion.  They  seemed  determined  not  to  be  behind  us, 
and  they  pursued  their  drill  with  great  avidity,  and  in  a 
few  months  it  took  us  all  our  time  to  maintain  our  name 
as  the  crack  company  of  the  regiment.  Being,  however,  the 
only  company  armed  with  rifles,  we  were  distinguished  as  the 
“ rifle  company.” 

We  had  not  long  to  remain  in  Camp  Walker.  We  had  got 
marching  orders,  and  many  were  the  surmises  as  to  our 
destination. 

It  was  now  generally  known  that  Lincoln  had  made  a call  for 
90,000  men  in  addition  to  the  75,000  already  levied,  and  that 
the  Federal  forces  would  invade  the  South  by  three  main  lines 
of  attack — one  on  the  east,  by  crossing  the  Potomac  into 
Virginia ; one  in  the  centre,  by  the  Mississippi  river  and  down 
the  left  bank  through  Tennessee ; and  one  on  the  west,  from 
Missouri  down  through  Arkansas. 

The  South  was  preparing  three  lines  of  defence — the  Army 
of  Virginia,  the  Army  of  the  Centre,  and  the  Army  of  the 
West.  To  which  of  these  armies  we  would  be  sent  we  could 
not  tell. 


CHAPTER  XY. 


DEPARTURE  FROM  NEW  ORLEANS— REMARKS  ON  THE  QUARTER-MASTER  AND 
COMMISSARY  DEPARTMENTS  — ARRIVAL  AT  BATON  ROUGE  — A PARTING 
INTERVIEW — INCIDENTS  ON  THE  PASSAGE — ARRIVAL  AT  LITTLE  ROCK — 
VIGOROUS  TRAINING— ARRIVAL  AT  FORT  SMITH— PRACTICAL  DUTIES— 
DEFERENCE  TO  RANK  — AMUSING  INCIDENT  — GENERAL  MCCULLOCH  — 
REPORTS  AND  ALARMS — PREPARATIONS  TO  TAKE  THE  FIELD. 

On  the  evening  of  the  17th  of  May,  we  received  orders  to 
strike  tents,  pack  up,  and  prepare  to  march.  This  was  pleas- 
ing intelligence,  and  we  were  all  glad  to  bid  farewell  to  Camp 
Walker,  with  its  broiling  heat,  bad  water,  and  mosquitoes. 
We  marched  to  the  city  wharf,  and  embarked  on  board  a 
steamer  waiting  to  receive  us.  This  showed  that  we  were  not 
to  join  the  Army  of  Virginia,  but  either  that  of  the  West  or  of 
the  Centre.  The  steamers,  three  in  number,  were  of  the 
ordinary  river  passenger  class  pressed  into  the  service. 

This  method  of  pressing  into  service  is  one  of  the  arbi- 
trary measures  resorted  to  in  time  of  war.  The  quarter- 
master-general takes  possession  of  whatever  private  property 
he  requires  for  the  emergency  in  the  shape  of  houses,  stores, 
railways,  steamers,  or  other  boats,  horses,  carts,  waggons,  or 
any  other  property  required  for  the  public  service.  A certifi- 
cate is  given  to  the  owner,  and  the  price  or  value  is  determined 
by  fijced  regulation,  payment  being  generally  made  by  a 
warrant  on  the  treasury  department.  This  may  seem  some- 
what arbitrary,  but  if  the  Government  is  solvent,  it  is  not  so 
bad  as  might  appear,  a fair  price  being  allowed,  and  the  owner 
gets  his  compensation  direct,  without  having  the  greater  part 
of  it  swallowed  up  by  arbiters  and  lawyers.  While  on  this 
subject,  I might  say  a word  or  two  on  the  quarter-master  and 
commissary  departments,  as  far  as  they  came  under  my  obser- 
vation. I do  not  know  how  these  departments  may  be 
managed  now,  in  the  United  States  or  in  other  countries,  but 
in  this  war  they  were  both  in  the  Xorth  and  South  subject  to 
the  grossest  corruption  and  peculation. 

In  the  quarter-master’s  department  the  plundering  was  from 
the  State  more  than  from  the  soldier,  although  the  latter 


164 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


suffered  much  from  it,  but  in  the  commissary  department  the 
robbing  of  the  soldier  was  so  open  and  barefaced  that  it  is 
astonishing  it  was  tolerated,  or  that  it  did  not  create  a mutiny. 
In  the  South  it  is  true  it  had  less  effect,  as  less  was  expected 
from  the  departments,  and  the  men  knew  that  they  were  often 
beset  with  difficulties,  but  they  did  not  trust  much  to  either 
department. 

The  army  was  furnished,  through  the  quarter-master^s 
department,  with  quarters,  whether  houses  or  tents,  camp 
equipage,  arms,  ammunition,  accoutrements,  and  clothing, 
and  all  means  of  transport.  These  the  department  obtained 
from  contractors,  and  the  shocking  quality  of  the  materials 
furnished  showed  corruption  to  a great  extent.  The  soldier, 
of  course,  knew  nothing  about  the  contracts,  and  in  the  South 
they  had  always  the  excuse  that  good  materials  were  not  to  be 
got ; but  the  things  which  mostly  affected  the  soldier  personally 
were  shoes  and  clothing,  and  these,  to  a great  extent,  they 
managed  to  provide  for  themselves,  or  they  were  sent  to  them 
by  their  friends  at  home.. 

The  system  pursued  by  the  commissaries,  even  making 
allowance  for  the  difficulties  they  were  subject  to,  were  simply 
disgraceful.  I dp  not  exaggerate  when  I say  that  on  an 
average  from  every  requisition  of  rations  said  to  be  issued  to 
the  troops,  the  commissary  took  off  one-third  and  sold  it, 
putting  the  proceeds  in  his  pocket.  The  cause  of  this  pecula- 
tion lay  greatly  in  the  system  of  management.  I might  say 
that  the  system,  as  it  then  existed,  was  such  that  even  a man 
of  the  most  sterling  integrity,  and  of  honest  and  upright 
principles,  if  appointed  commissary  of  a regiment  on  active 
service  could  hardly,  after  six  months,  remain  an  honest  man. 
If  so,  he  would  deserve  the  greatest  credit  for  it. 

The  system  was  this  : The  commissary  received  a supply  of 
provisions  from  the  depot.  He  got  with  it  an  invoice  detailing 
quantity  and  price.  From  these  he  issued  to  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  soldiers,  on  requisitions  signed  by  the 
orderly-sergeants  and  captains  of  companies.  He  sold  for 
money  to  all  officers  and  men  pertaining  to  the  army.  He 
had  to  account  for  the  amount  of  the  consignment  (losses  and 
casualties  excepted)  by  money  and  requisitions.  The  practice 
was  this  : An  orderly  sergeant  made  out  a requisition  for  his 
company — say  for  100  men  for  one  day — flour,  100  lb.;  beef, 
pork,  or  bacon,  75  lb.;  coffee,  seven  lb.;  sugar,  14  lb.;  rice  or 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


165 


pease,  six  lb.;  candles,  six;  soap,  two  lb.;  salt,  pepper,  vinegar,  etc. 
This  requisition  was  signed  by  the  captain,  and  men  were 
detailed  to  go  to  the  commissary  store  to  draw  these  rations. 
The  commissary  takes  the  requisition  and  calls  his  assistant, 
and  says  to  the  men,  “Well,  you  can  get  three-quarter  ration 
of  flour,  half  ration  of  pork,  half  ration  of  coflee,  and  half 
ration  of  sugar,  and  that  is  all.”  The  men  would  grumble  and 
say,  “We  only  got  half  rations  yesterday.”  “ Can’t  help  it,  I 
am  short  of  provisions,  and  there  are  other  companies  to  serve 
as  well  as  you,  and  all  must  get  their  share.”  He  then  sticks 
the  requisition  on  the  file,  and  his  assistant  weighs  out  the 
rations.  “Will  we  get  the  back  rations  when  the  supplies 
come  up  ” some  mischievous  young  rasgal  would  say  as  he 
dodged  behind  a barrel.  The  commissary  would  put  his  hand 
on  his  revolver,  but  restrain  himself,  and  pretend  to  take  no 
notice  of  a thing  so  absurd,  and  buries  his  face  in  his  book, 
while  he  credits  himself  with  full  rations  issued  to  100  men 
as  per  requisition,  while  his  assistant  and  the  men  would  laugh 
at  the  audacity  of  the  offender,  “no  back  rations”  being  the 
commissary’s  watchword,  and,  what  was  more  strange,  no 
requisition  would  be  received  unless  it  was  made  out  for  the 
full  amount. 

Thus  the  commissary  had  a voucher  for  and  was  credited 
with  supplying  a full  requisition  when  he  had  only  supplied  a 
small  part  of  it,  and  he  had  the  rest  to  sell  for  his  own  benefit. 
I have  frequently  known  instances  of  a company,  after  giving 
the  full  requisition  and  being  supplied  with  half  rations  on 
the  grounds  that  provisions  were  scarce,  getting  one  of  the 
army  waggon  drivers,  and  giving  him  money  to  go  to  the 
commissary  store  and  purchase  four  or  five  pounds  of  coffee, 
or  other  necessaries,  which  had  been  kept  off*  them,  which  he 
would  obtain  for  money  without  the  least  trouble,  and  this 
system  was  carried  on  quite  openly.  I more  than  once  nearly 
got  into  serious  difficulty  by  insisting  on  marking  on  the 
requisition  the  actual  quantity  of  provisions  delivered. 

In  the  post-commissaries  and  depots  there  was  another 
system  of  peculation. 

In  these  depots  there  were  immense  stocks  of  provisions 
stored  for  army  use.  These  were  periodically  inspected  by 
officers,  generally  of  the  sinecure  kind  appointed  through 
favour  for  such  purposes,  and  there  was  always  a considerable 
quantity  marked  “ condemned  ” as  being  unfit  for  use.  The 


166 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


ceremony  of  inspecting  was  generally  done  in  this  way  : The 
inspecting  officers  would  come  to  the  depot,  where  they  would 
be  met  by  the  post-commissary,  who  would  receive  them  in  the 
most  friendly  manner,  and  conduct  them  into  the  large  stores. 
On  each  side  along  the  wall  would  be  piled  up  on  the  top  of 
each  other  with  their  ends  exposed,  a great  many  barrels  of 
beef,  pork,  flour,  biscuit,  etc. 

“ These,”  says  the  commissary,  “ are  what  I have  myself 
picked  out  as  being  bad.  Those  on  this  side  are  good,  but  you 
can  inspect  for  yourself.  Cooper,  open  one  or  two  of  those 
barrels.”  The  cooper  opens  a barrel  which  of  course  had  been 
already  selected.  The  unsavoury  brine  spurts  out.  The 
officers  stand  back  to  save  their  handsome  uniforms.  Other 
barrels  are  examined  of  flour,  biscuit,  etc.,  similarly  selected. 
Then  all  on  that  side,  the  bulk  of  which  were  probably  the 
best  provisions,  are  ordered  to  be  marked  condemned.  The 
officers  would  take  a list  of  the  number  to  make  their  report, 
and  then  go  and  inspect  the  hospital  stores  of  wines,  brandies, 
etc.,  of  which  they  would  acknowledge  they  were  better 
judges.  A few  days’  notice  would  then  be  given  of  a sale  of 
“ condemned  army  stores,”  and  they  would  be  auctioned  off 
for  a mere  trifle.  The  commissary  of  course  has  an  agent 
present  who  knew  what  lots  to  purchase. 

Thus  it  was  said  large  quantities  of  the  very  best  stores  were 
often  marked  “ Condemned,”  and  sold  off  at  a mere  trifle,  the 
commissary  having  an  agent  on  the  ground  to  buy  them  in. 

This  system  was  more  common  in  the  North  than  in  the 
South,  as  in  the  South,  after  the  first  year  of  the  war,  there 
were  not  tlie  stores  to  work  upon  and  no  outside  market  for 
them.  But  in  the  last  year  of  the  war  I saw  in  one  of  the 
seaports  of  Mexico  a large  quantity  of  mess  beef  and  pork 
which  bore  the  mark,  ‘‘  Condemned  U.S.  Stores,”  and  which 
were  of  the  very  best  quality,  and  sold  at  a high  price. 

The  3rd  Begiment  of  Louisiana  Volunteers,  1060  strongs 
left  New  Orleans  on  the  night  of  the  17th  of  May,  1861^ 
amidst  the  loud  cheers  of  the  populace. 

No  special  fitting  up  had  been  made  on  the  steamers  for  the 
conveyance  of  troops.  On  our  steamer  there  were  three  com- 
panies, under  command  of  the  major,  our  former  captain.  A 
certain  space  of  the  boat  was  allotted  to  each  company,  and 
the  men  were  allowed  to  make  themselves  as  comfortable  or  as 
uncomfortable  as  they  chose. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


167 


The  steamers  proceeded  up  the  river,  and  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  following  day  they  approached  Baton  Rouge.  The  men 
of  our  company  were  now  told  that  the  steamer  would  stop 
there  for  about  an  hour  that  they  might  have  a short  inter- 
view^ with  their  friends,  and  that  notice  had  been  telegraphed 
to  Baton  Rouge  of  the  steamer’s  approach,  so  that  their  friends 
might  be  at  the  wharf  to  meet  them.  As  the  vessel  came  near 
to  the  landing-place  it  appeared  to  be  less  like  the  tearful 
parting  of  a few  friends  than  a great  public  demonstration. 
The  whole  front  of  the  town,  the  wharf  and  banks  of  the  river 
vere  crowded  with  people.  Flags  floated  on  the  Capitol  and 
Ghe  public  buildings  and  almost  every  other  place  where  a 
flag  could  be  stuck  up.  The  steamer  came  to  the  wharf  just 
as  it  was  getting  dark.  Salutes  were  fired  from  the  garrison 
and  the  river  bank.  A band  of  music  welcomed  the  arrival. 
The  governor  and  his  suite  stood  on  the  wharf  to  greet  the 
officers  and  men.  All  this  was  of  course  to  create  enthusiasm 
by  honouring  those  who  had  already  taken  up  arms,  and  to 
stir  up  others  who  had  not  yet  done  so ; and  it  was  not  without 
its  effect. 

The  Baton  Rouge  Rifle  Company,  now  known  as  Company 
A,  wvas  granted  leave  to  go  on  shore  for  an  hour.  The  meet- 
ings with  friends,  as  may  be  supposed,  were  affecting,  fathers, 
mothers,  wives,  sisters,  younger  brothers,  and  children  gathering 
round  and  embracing  the  already  slightly  bronzed  embryo 
warriors,  while  young  ladies  went  through  selecting  such 
members  as  were  known  to  have  no  family  ties  or  relatives 
and  presenting  them,  not  with  bouquets,  but  neat  small  cases 
containing  pin-cushion,  needles,  thread,  buttons,  etc. — a most 
useful  gift ; while  the  receivers,  scarcely  knowing  how  to  thank 
the  donors,  and  confused  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  at 
what  was  going  on  around  them,  quite  forgot  themselves,  and  j 
some  of  them  in  their  recklessness  saluted  the  fair  damsels 
with  a kiss.  The  young  ladies,  under  the  circumstances, 
forgave  the  rashness — indeed  I am  not  certain  whether  in  the 
confusion  I did  not  myself  commit  the  offence. 

Having  no  tender  relatives  of  my  own,  I passed  from  one  to 
another.  Mothers,  one  after  another,  came  up  to  me,  holding 
their  sons  round  the  neck.  ‘‘Now,  Mr.  W.,  Charlie  is  more 
directly  under  your  charge  than  any  other  officer ; I hope  you 
will  take  good  care  of  him  and  make  him  do  his  duty.  And, 
Charlie,  you  must  always  be  obedient  to  your  officers,  you 


168 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


know  it  is  your  duty.”  I would  affect  to  treat  the  matter 
lightly,  and  answer  gaily,  “ Oh,  never  fear,  Charlie  is  getting 
on  very  well ; he  will  make  a good  soldier ; he  knows  if  he 
don’t  do  his  duty,  I will  take  a stick  to  him ; ” and  I would 
laugh  and  give  Charlie  a poke  on  the  shoulder.  ‘‘  All  right, 
sergeant,”  Charlie  would  say,  with  a manly  and  happy 
expression.  The  anxious  mother  would  seem  pleased  aud 
assured,  and  reply,  Oh,  yes ; I know  you  will  take  care 
of  him,  but  you  know  what  is  before  you,  and  he  is  only 
16.  May  God  protect  you.”  The  good  woman  would  break 
down,  and  could  say  no  more,  and  I turned  to  the  next.  My 
partner  in  business,  who  had  come  down  to  meet  me,  and  who 
had  been  talking  with  the  major,  came  up  and  told  me  that 
the  leave  ashore  had  been  extended  to  two  hours,  and  that  I 
might  come  up  and  have  tea.  I must,  however,  learn  this 
from  some  authority,  and  I saw  the  major  walking  up  town 
with  some  of  his  family.  I ran  and  asked  him.  He  told  me  we 
would  leave  at  nine  o’clock  as  the  steamer  was  going  to  take  in 
wood. 

It  was  now  only  a little  past  seven,  so  we  walked  up  town. 
It  was  a lovely  evening ; the  streets  were  fragrant  with  the 
flowers  of  the  chinaberry  trees  which  lined  the  pavements. 
What  a difference  from  Camp  Walker  ! Every  person,  male 
and  female,  seemed  to  be  in  the  street,  and  all  wishful  to  stop 
and  speak.  The  excitement  appeared  to  have  greatly  increased 
since  we  had  left,  or  rather  the  people  had  begun  more  to 
realise  the  situation.  From  everyone  we  heard  expressions 
such  as,  Is  not  this  terrible  ? Heaven  knows  what  it  is  all 
going  to  come  to!  War,  I suppose,  and  a bloody  war  too; 
there  has  already  been  fighting  in  some  places.”  “Where  are 
you  going  to  ? ” I would  be  asked.  “ I do  not  know.”  “ I 
hear  you  are  going  to  Cairo,”  says  one.  “ I cannot  tell ; all  I 
know  is  that  we  proceed  up  the  river  under  sealed  orders.” 
“ I rather  think,”  said  another,  “ that  you  will  be  going  to 
Missouri.  General  Lyon,  with  an  army  of  United  States 
troops,  has  overrun  that  State,  laying  it  waste  with  fire  and 
sword ; ” and  there  were  many  conjectures  and  rumours  on 
the  subject.  We  reached  my  friend’s  house,  and  had  tea  and 
some  conversation.  At  length  the  steamboat’s  whistle  blew  as 
the  signal  for  all  to  be  on  board  again. 

I was  soon  on  board,  mustered  the  company,  and  found  all 
present  and  two  additions  of  men  who  had  been  carried  away 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


169 


by  the  excitement,  and  sought  to  share  the  honours  without 
thinking  of  the  hardships.  Provision  was  made  for  them, 
and  they  were  enrolled  without  much  ceremony. 

The  steamer  was  at  last  cast  off  and  proceeded  up  the  river. 
The  boys  were  greatly  elated  with  the  reception  they  had  got 
at  their  native  town,  and  were  now  more  ready  and  determined 
than  ever  to  endure  any  hardship  and  fight  for  the  cause  to 
the  last. 

The  part  of  the  boat  allotted  to  our  company  was  the  hurri- 
cane deck,  with  the  blue  canopy  of  heaven  overhead.  It  was, 
however,  fine  weather,  mild  and  clear,  with  a bright  moon. 
There  was  no  tattoo  on  the  steamer,  and  the  men  could  stay 
up  or  lie  down  as  they  chose.  There  was  not  much  inclination 
to  sleep.  Some  were  talking  and  happy ; others  were  silent 
and  absorbed  in  their  own  thoughts.  I was  sitting  on  the 
forward  rail  about  an  hour  after  we  had  left  Baton  Rouge 
chatting  with  others,  when  some  one  called  my  attention  to  a 
commotion  abaft  the  pilot-house.  I looked  in  that  direction, 
and  I saw  the  flash  of  steel  in  the  moonlight  and  heard  the 
clash  of  sabre  bayonets.  I had  just  time  to  run  aft,  draw  my 
sabre,  and  throw  myself  between  the  combatants  before  serious 
mischief  was  done.  One  of  the  combatants  was  J.  S.,  who, 
from  some  real  or  imaginary  slight  or  insult  from  another  high- 
blooded  member  of  the  company,  thought  fit  to  resent  in  such 
a v/ay  as  speedily  led  to  a conflict.  Both  were  furious  and 
seemed  bent  on  mischief.  I had  them  disarmed  and 
taken  to  different  parts  of  the  boat  and  placed  under  guard. 
The  commissioned  officers  having  gone  to  bed  in  the  lower 
saloon,  I could  do  nothing  further  in  the  meantime.  I thought 
it  probable  that  when  ashore  at  Baton  Rouge  the  combatants 
had  been  paying  a visit  to  a cafe,  and  were  thus  a little  excited. 
About  an  hour  afterwards  a deputation  of  the  company  came 
to  me  and  said  that  the  parties  had  agreed  to  settle  the  matter 
amicably,  and  if  I would  release  them  and  say  no  more  of  the 
matter  they  would  pledge  their  word  of  honour  as  soldiers  that 
the  disputants  would  not  renew  the  quarrel.  I did  so,  and  the 
matter  dropped. 

W e soon  came  up  to  the  other  two  steamers,  which  had  been 
wooding  higher  up  the  river,  and  the  three  vessels  proceeded 
in  company. 

It  cannot  be  good  for  soldiers,  either  morally  or  physically, 
to  undergo  long  voyages  on  transports  where  they  have  not 


170 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


their  usual  duties,  drills,  or  exercise  to  perform,  and  unless 
there  is  some  special  provision  to  keep  them  in  proper  employ- 
ment they  are  apt  to  lounge,  play  cards,  hatch  mischief,  and 
quarrel.  I have  no  doubt  that  the  more  complete  arrange- 
ments for  transport,  as  in  the  British  service,  these  things  are 
provided  for,  but  in  this  voyage  of  a few  days  on  a crude  system 
and  with  crude  material  I could  observe  its  bad  effects. 

Some  three  days  after  leaving  Baton  Bouge  the  steamers 
left  the  Mississippi  and  proceeded  up  the  Arkansas  river,  which 
indicated  that  we  were  destined  for  the  “Army  of  the  West,^^ 
and  the  following  day  we  were  landed  at  “ Little  Rock,’’  the 
capital  of  the  State  of  Arkansas.  Here  we  learned  that  our 
first  destination  was  “ Fort  Smith,”  about  250  miles  further 
up  the  river  on  the  border  of  the  “ Indian  Territory;”  but,  as 
the  water  was  now  too  low  for  the  steamers  to  go  there,  we 
must  remain  at  Little  Rock  until  the  river  rose,  or,  if  that  did 
not  take  place  in  time,  we  would  march  by  land  as  soon  as 
army  waggons  could  be  provided. 

A newly-raised  regiment  of  cavalry  was  drawn  up  to  receive 
us,  but  as  we  marched  up  the  town  preceded  by  a fife  and 
drum  band  their  horses,  though  splendid  animals,  were  not 
used  to  that  sort  of  thing,  and  became  restive  and  plunged 
fearfully,  threatening  to  throw  their  riders.  The  animals  were 
well  managed,  however,  and  the  riders  kept  their  seats. 

In  the  meantime  our  lieutenant-colonel  ordered  the  band  to 
stop  playing  for  fear  of  accident.  This,  however,  the  troopers 
would  not  hear  of,  and  their  colonel  (Churchhill)  riding  up 
said  he  wished  their  horses  to  be  trained  to  the  sound  of  the 
fife  and  drum,  and  was  glad  he  had  now  got  the  opportunity. 
Although  he  had  been  able  to  raise  1000  men  and  horses, 
he  had  not  yet  been  able  to  raise  a single  fife  and  drum.  The 
street  was  very  wide,  and  the  troopers  formed  column  by 
troops  and  preceded  us  up  town,  their  horses  rearing  and 
plunging  violently,  to  the  no  small  amusement  of  our  men, 
and  I could  just  imagine  that  the  drummers  sometimes  gave 
an  extra  rub-a-dub  to  see  if  they  could  not  awaken  a 
catastrophe. 

It  was  of  no  use,  the  men  could  rein  their  horses,  and  they 
kept  their  seats.  We  proceeded  out  to  the  large  city  park 
where  we  were  to  encamp. 

The  park  was  a tract  of  undulating  land  not  much  improved, 
but  cleared  and  covered  with  good  grass,  and  interspersed 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


171 


with  many  fine  shady  trees,  some  cattle  and  sheep  grazing 
upon  it,  and  in  appearance  it  was  not  unlike  a nobleman’s 
park  in  the  old  country. 

Our  tents  and  other  baggage  having  been  brought  up  from 
the  steamer  under  care  of  a guard,  the  camp  was  soon  formed, 
tents  pitched,  fires  lighted,  rations  drawn  and  supper  prepared. 
We  were  now  getting  used  to  this  kind  of  duty.  The  sergeant- 
major  came  round  to  order  the  quota  of  men  for  guard  to 
report  immediately.  The  guards  were  posted  and  the  camp 
guarded  round,  and,  as  it  was  facetiously  expressed,  no  one 
could  pass  out  unless  they  could  say,  “Natches.” 

This  expression  arose  from  an  incident  said  to  have  occurred 
at  Camp  Walker. 

A raw  recruit,  said  to  be  a German  (as  these  were  generally 
the  butts  for  such  stories),  was  placed  at  one  of  the  posts,  with 
orders  to  let  no  one  pass  unless  they  could  give  the  counter- 
sign, and  the  countersign  was  “ Natches.”  Hans  took  his 
position,  and  shortly  afterwards  some  one  approaching,  Hans 
cried  out,  “ Halt ! you  can’t  pass  here  unless  you  can  say, 
‘ Hatches.’  ” 

This  was  said  to  have  occurred  at  Camp  Walker.  But  the 
story  may  be  as  old  as  guard  mounting  itself,  and  many  other 
stories,  such  as  the  sentinel  who  was  questioned  for  not  salut- 
ing the  officer  of  the  day,  while  the  latter  was  going  the  night 
rounds,  replied,  that  he  thought  the  officer  of  the  day  had  no 
authority  in  the  night. 

Being  now  a regiment  we  felt  better  satisfied  ; we  were 
more  like  a family,  or  rather  a moving  community ; our  home 
was  the  regiment,  and  the  farther  we  got  from  our  native  State, 
the  more  we  became  attached  to  it. 

Having  passed  the  first  night  in  our  new  camp,  we  were 
glad  to  find  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  mosquitoes  in  the  place, 
which  was  a great  pleasure  to  realise. 

The  several  morning  duties  and  company  drill  being  over, 
orders  were  given  to  shift  camp. 

A more  suitable  place  had  been  selected  in  the  park,  and  a 
camp  laid  out  in  the  true  regulation  form.  Tents  were  quickly 
struck  and  carried  to  the  new  site,  and  a new  camp  formed 
with  all  modern  improvements,  and  the  training  was  now  com 
tinned  with  great  energy — company  drill  in  the  forenoon,  and 
battalion  drill  in  the  afternoon.  The  place  was  in  every  way 
favourable  for  manceuvring. 


172 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Our  company,  with  not  a little  vanity,  liked  to  show  off  its 
accomplishments  in  skirmish  drill,  under  the  eyes  of  hundreds 
of  spectators  who  came  out  from  the  city  to  look  on. 

This  prompted  some  of  the  other  companies  to  learn  the 
drill,  and  eventually  one  other  company  got  tolerably  proficient, 
and  was  placed  on  the  left  flank  of  the  regiment,  our  company 
being  on  the  right.  The  other  eight  companies,  being  stronger 
in  number  and  physique,  formed  the  four  divisions  of  the 
square,  and  the  other  two  companies  acted  as  right  and  left 
flank  skirmishers. 

The  zeal  and  diligent  application  of  the  men  tended  greatly 
to  accelerate  their  progress  towards  efficiency,  and,  on  the 
whole,  the  regiment  was  progressing  fast,  and  promised  to  be 
an  effective  corps.  A school  had  been  established  for  the 
instruction  and  special  drill  of  the  sergeants,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  sergeant-major,  who  was  a thorough  soldier,  and  a 
graduate  of  a military  institute. 

I mention  these  matters  as  descriptive  of  the  mode  adopted 
in  time  of  need  of  organising  and  speedily  bringing  up  to  a 
state  of  tolerable  efficiency  a young  regiment  of  volunteers. 

When  we  had  been  here  about  eight  days,  a rise  in  the 
river  took  place,  and  steamers  being  ready,  we  broke  up  canlp 
and  embarked  for  Fort  Smith. 

Fort  Smith  is  situated  near  the  right  bank  of  the  Arkansas 
river,  about  500  miles  from  where  it  joins  the  Mississippi.  It  is 
about  the  head  of  the  navigation,  and  on  the  line  which  bounds 
the  State  of  Arkansas  with  the  Indian  Territory.  It  had 
always  been  garrisoned  by  the  United  States  troops,  but  had, 
like  the  other  forts  in  the  South,  been  surrendered  when  the 
State  seceded. 

The  adjoining  town,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  fort, 
contained  at  that  time  about  three  or  four  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. The  fort  was  of  some  strength  and  advantageously 
situated. 

It  was  now  well  known  that  we  were  to  form  a part  of  the 
Army  of  the  West  under  Brigadier-General  McCulloch,  and 
Fort  Smith  was  for  the  present  to  be  the  base  of  operations. 
Several  other  bodies  of  troops  were  encamped  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. 

We  marched  out  to  a suitable  place  about  three  miles  from 
the  town,  where  our  camp  was  roughly  pitched  for  the  first 
night.  On  the  following  morning  a suitable  place  was  selected 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


173 


on  a fine,  dry  ridge  along  the  border  of  the  Indian  Territory. 
This  place  we  were  ordered  to  clear  and  prepare  for  a camp, 
and  as  it  was  probable  that  we  would  remain  here  for  some 
time,  a regular  and  proper  camp  was  required.  Here  the  men 
were  initiated  into  the  more  common  and  practical  duties  of 
the  soldier,  which  many  of  them  did  not  so  much  relish.  Large 
details  were  ordered  with  axes,  spades,  and  pick-axes  to  do  the 
necessary  work.  Trees  were  cut  down,  brushwood  cleared 
away,  ditches  cut  where  necessary  for  drainage,  and  along  on 
the  side  next  the  Indian  Territory,  and  on  the  left  where  most 
exposed,  earth- work  defences  were  thrown  up.  This  latter  was 
no  doubt  intended  more  to  exercise  and  instruct  the  troops  in 
that  kind  of  duty  than  out  of  any  necessity  for  defence  of  the 
place.  A regular  camp  was  now  formed,  and  a large  piece 
of  clear  prairie  land  adjoining  served  well  for  drill  and 
manoeuvring.  Here  constant  drill  was  persevered  in,  and  every 
attention  given  to  have  the  regiment  made  efiicient  and  ready 
to  take  the  field. 

The  regiment,  since  leaving  New  Orleans,  had  been  in 
command  of  the  lieutenant-colonel.  Colonel  H.  not  having 
accompanied  it. 

He  now  arrived  and  took  up  his  head-quarters  in  the  town 
of  Fort  Smith,  having  been  temporarily  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  post,  General  McCulloch  being  busily  employed 
in  examining  the  country  northwards  towards  Missouri,  through 
which  the  campaign  was  to  be  conducted.  The  latter  had 
already  visited  our  camp,  inspected  the  regiment,  and  expressed 
himself  highly  satisfied  with  it,  but  enjoined  the  strictest 
attention  to  drill  and  also  to  the  more  practical  parts  of  a 
soldier’s  duty,  as  the  campaign  would  be  an  arduous  one  and 
through  a rough  country. 

Colonel  H.  visited  the  camp  about  three  times  a week,  put 
the  regiment  through  battalion  drill  or  dress  parade,  and 
issued  what  orders  he  thought  necessary  from  his  head-quarters 
at  Fort  Smith.  Here  happened  one  of  these  ludicrous  incidents 
which  sometimes  arises  from  oversight  or  from  a careless  or 
inexplicit  way  of  giving  orders. 

In  the  large  armies  of  volunteers  which  were  raised  in 
America  at  this  time  there  was  much  less  of  that  deference  to 
rank  and  military  formalities  and  ceremonies  which  exists  not 
only  in  regular  armies,  but  pervades  also  the  military  society 
in  little  garrison  towns  and  military  stations  in  Europe  in 


174 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


times  of  peace.  Respect  to  rank  was  certainly  observed  and 
enforced  so  far  as  it  was  essential  to  discipline  and  efficiency 
and  the  good  of  the  service ; but  the  American  armies,  being 
only  provisional,  and  there  being  many  privates  in  the  ranks 
whose  position  in  civil  life  might  be  higher  than  that  of  their 
field  officers,  this  deference  could  not  be  carried  to  anything 
like  servility.  This  was  more  applicable  to  that  respectable 
class  of  volunteer  regiments  which  composed  the  armies  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  war  than  to  those  raised  by  draft  or  con- 
scription towards  the  end  of  it.  It  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  in 
point  of  discipline,  efficiency,  bravery,  and  general  worth  the 
latter  could  hold  no  place  with  the  former.  Nevertheless,  men 
who  become  soldiers,  no  matter  what  sphere  of  life  they  may 
come  from,  or  under  what  circumstances  they  may  join 
the  army,  will  all,  I believe,  acquire  that  propensity  to 
get  out  of  camp  and  have  a little  freedom  in  towns  near 
where  they  may  be  quartered.  The  restriction  of  this 
liberty  was  always  a bitter  pill  to  our  men,  and  it  was 
considered  no  breach  of  honour  to  evade  the  rule  or  outwit 
the  guard. 

It  so  happened  that  the  spring  which  supplied  water  within 
the  camp  was  not  quite  sufficient,  and  now,  that  midsummer 
was  setting  in  and  the  weather  dry  and  hot,  it  became  alto- 
gether insufficient.  Another  spring  was  discovered  some 
distance  beyond  the  lines,  to  which  it  became  necessary  to  go 
for  water,  and  it  was  understood  that  a man  going  for  water 
carrying  a water  pail  would  be  allowed  to  pass  the  sentinel. 
Some,  however,  got  into  the  habit  of  taking  a pail  and, 
getting  past  the  sentinel,  would  hide  the  pail  in  the  bushes 
and  proceed  to  the  town  and  enjoy  themselves  for  a while,  and 
then  return  and  take  up  their  pail  and  go  into  camp  with  the 
water,  calling  forth  the  remark  sometimes  that  it  must  be  a 
long  distance  to  that  well. 

Colonel  H.,  who  was  something  of  a martinet,  imagining 
one  day  that  there  were  more  of  his  men  on  liberty  than 
should  be,  stopped  some  of  them  and  demanded  to  see  their 
passes.  Some  had  none.  This  enraged  the  colonel,  who, 
meeting  with  the  major  who  happened  to  be  in  town,  demanded 
in  a rather  imperious  manner  an  explanation  of  such  lack  of 
discipline.  The  major  replied  that  it  was  not  easy  to  prevent 
it,  as  the  men  had  to  go  out  of  the  camp  for  water,  and  they 
often  hid  their  pails  and  ran  into  the  town. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


175 


“ And  why  don’t  you  make  a corporal  accompany  them,” 
cried  the  colonel. 

“ It  will  require  a special  order  for  that,”  said  the  major. 

“You  will  soon  have  it,”  said  the  colonel.  And  calling  his 
secretary  said,  “Write  a special  order  at  once,  and  send  it  out 
to  the  adjutant  to  be  read  on  parade  this  evening,  that  no 
person  shall  be  allowed  to  pass  in  or  out  of  the  camp  unless 
accompanied  by  a non-commissioned  officer.” 

The  order  was  read  on  parade  that  evening,  and  a copy  of 
it  stuck  up  at  the  guard  house. 

Shortly  after  guard  mounting  next  morning,  the  major 
came  laughing  into  my  tent  which  was  close  to  post 
number  three,  which  commanded  the  road  that  led  into 
the  town. 

“ W.,”  said  he,  “I  want  to  take  my  station  in  your  tent  to 
see  the  fun.” 

“ What  is  up  ? ” said  I. 

“ Did  you  not  hear  the  order  read  last  night  ? ” said  he.  “ I 
want  to  see  them  carrying  it  out.  Captain  G.  is  officer  of  the 
day,  and  he  is  going  to  carry  it  out  to  the  letter.” 

He  then  directed  my  attention  to  the  word  “ person  ” in  the 
order. 

I saw  the  mistake,  but  remarked  that  it  was  not  much. 

But,”  said  he,  “ there  are  some  that  would  consider  it  a degra- 
dation, and  I know  two  officers  are  now  dressing  to  go  to 
town,  and  they  are  two  most  pompous  formalists,  and  I want 
to  see  them  passed  out,  and  then  I want  to  pass  out  myself  for 
the  fun  of  the  thing,  and  when  stopped  by  the  guard  I will 
apply  to  you  for  a non-commissioned  officer  to  pass  me  out ; 
and  I wish  you  to  send  the  youngest  corporal  you  have — has 
not  little  B.  been  made  a corporal  ? ” 

“ Yes,  he  has.” 

“ Then  send  him  to  pass  me  out.  Had  the  mistake  occurred 
through  any  one  else,”  continued  he,  “it  would  not  have  been 
so  much,  but  you  know  Colonel  H.  has  such  pride  in  his 
military  knowledge,  and  is  such  a stickler  for  military  form 
and  precision  in  everything.  Oh ! here  they  come,”  and  he 
placed  himself  in  a corner  where  he  could  see  the  post,  and 
sat  chuckling. 

I looked  out,  and  sav^  two  handsomely  dressed  officers  going 
to\7ards  the  road  that  led  into  the  town.  As  they  approached 
the  sentinel,  I imagined  I could  see  a smile  of  mischievous 


176 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


satisfaction  in  the  fellow’s  face ; while  the  major  was  watching 
with  extreme  eagerness. 

Halt ! ” exclaimed  the  sentinel  coming  to  the  charge. 

“ What  do  you  mean,  sir  1 ” was  the  reply.  ‘‘  Shoulder  arms 
till  officers  pass  ! ” 

“I  mean,”  said  the  sentinel,  taking  a firm  position,  ‘‘that 
you  cannot  pass.” 

“ How  is  this  1 Explain,  sir  ! ” 

“ Corporal  of  the  guard  post  number  three,”  shouts  the 
sentinel. 

The  corporal  of  the  guard  who  had  been  hiding  behind  my 
tent  came  round,  and  as  he  passed  the  door  I saw  the  major 
make  him  a sign,  and  he  hastened  towards  the  post.  He  told 
the  officers  that  they  would  have  to  be  accompanied  and  passed 
out  by  a non-commissioned  officer,  but  other  than  a non-com- 
missioned officer  of  the  guard.  Such  were  his  orders.  They 
demanded  to  see  the  officer  of  the  day,  but  he  would  only  call 
the  sergeant  of  the  guard.  The  sergeant  of  the  guard  having 
arrived  at  the  post,  he  could  only  reiterate  what  the  corporal 
had  spoken.  They  then  demanded  to  see  the  officer  of  the 
day,  but  he  would  only  call  the  lieutenant  of  the  guard,  deter- 
mined that  they  should  pass  through  the  whole  routine.  The 
lieutenant  of  the  guard  came,  but  he  directed  their  attention 
to  the  order,  and  said  his  orders  were  imperative.  They  still 
demanded  to  see  the  officer  of  the  day,  and  the  corporal  of  the 
guard  was  sent  to  call  him.  The  corporal  knew  very  well 
where  to  find  him,  and  the  officer  of  the  day  soon  made  his 
appearance.  I was  wishful  of  hearing  the  row  between  them 
and  the  officer  of  the  day,  and  had  gone  down  towards  the 
post,  but  when  the  officer  of  the  day  came  along,  he  came 
alongside  of  me,  and  gave  me  a push,  saying,  “ Go  away  out 
of  that,  man ; they  will  perhaps  ask  you  to  pass  them  out, 
and  that  would  spoil  the  fun.” 

I now  understood  the  thing  better,  and  retired  out  of  sight. 
They  remonstrated  with  the  officer  of  the  day,  and  protested 
that  it  was  a mere  clerical  error  in  the  order.  But  the  officer 
of  the  day  was  inexorable,  and  told  them  that  they  could 
easily  get  over  the  difficulty  by  asking  a corporal  to  pass  them 
out.  This,  however,  they  declined  to  do ; and  they  returned 
to  their  quarters  in  high  dudgeon.  p?hese  officers  were  not 
very  popular  in  the  regiment  on  accoujnt  of  their  rather  high 
pretensions,  and  the  thing  was  much!|  enjoyed  by  the  other 

,1 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


177 


officers,  none  of  whom,  however,  sought  to  go  out  of  camp  that 
day. 

The  major,  however,  determined  to  have  revenge  on  the 
colonel  for  his  hauteur  of  the  previous  day,  was  resolved 
that  the  order  should  be  carried  out,  and  mounting  his  horse 
rode  up  to  the  post  and  was  of  course  stopped  by  the  sentinel. 
He  then  rode  back  to  my  tent,  and  asked  for  a non-commis- 
sioned officer  to  pass  him  out.  I called  Corporal  B.  to  go  and 
take  the  major  past  the  sentinel,  which  he  did  amidst  the 
laughter  and  cheers  of  a large  number  of  officers  and  men  who 
had  gathered  round  the  post. 

But  the  best  of  the  fun  was  still  to  come.  In  about  three 
hours  afterwards  the  major  returned,  and  a call  was  made  for 
a non-commissioned  officer  to  pass  him  in,  and  Corporal  B.  was 
ordered  to  go  and  pass  in  the  major,  which  he  did. 

The  major  was  in  great  glee.  He  had  learned  that  Colonel 
H.  and  General  McCulloch  were  going  to  visit  the  camp  in 
the  afternoon,  and  how  about  passing  them  in.  The  order  was 
plain,  but  the  question  was.  Could  not  Colonel  H.  revoke  the 
order  when  he  came  to  the  post?  The  officer  of  the  day 
thought  not,  and  he  was  determined  to  enforce  it. 

The  lieutenant-colonel,  being  that  day  confined  to  his 
quarters  from  sickness,  knew  nothing  of  the  afiair  till  it  was 
all  over. 

As  the  time  approached,  battalion  drill  was  over  (I  believe 
it  was  got  past  a little  earlier  that  day  on  purpose),  and  it  was 
difficult  to  keep  a crowd  from  gathering  near  the  post.  At 
length  the  general  and  colonel  arrived,  and  were  stopped  by 
the  sentinel,  who  had  been  specially  selected  and  instructed 
for  the  occasion.  The  colonel  was  furious,  but  the  general 
requested  him  to  be  calm,  and  the  officer  of  the  day  was  sent 
for.  The  latter,  with  the  written  order  in  his  hand,  explained 
that  his  position  was  one'  of  great  difficulty,  but  the  general 
rules  were,  that  the  orders  to  the  guard  should  not  be  broken 
so  far  as  referred  to  the  passing  of  a sentinel,  even  if  the 
person  desiring  to  pass  was  the  commander-in-chief  himself, 
and  as  the  officers  were  often  sorely  tempted  and  tried  on  such 
occasions,  he  had  resolved  to  abide  by  his  orders,  even  if  he 
should  afterwards  be  court-martialed  for  doing  so ; and  he 
added  that  no  one  would  be  more  ready  to  punish  for  laxity  of 
duty  than  they,  the  general  and  colonel  now  before  him. 

The  general  admitted  the  position  of  the  officer  of  the  day, 

M 


178 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


and  that  he  was  justified  in  having  doubts  on  the  subject,  and 
therefore  the  best  way  would  be  to  carry  out  the  orders,  and 
asked  him  to  call  a non-commissioned  officer.  The  officer  of 
the  day  turned  towards  our  company  ground.  I could  see  he 
had  a sore  struggle  to  contain  himself ; he  could  not  speak  for 
laughing,  but  made  a sign  for  a non-commissioned  officer. 

“Corporal  B.,”  said  I,  “go  and  take  the  general  and  the 
colonel  past  the  sentinel  at  post  number  three. 

Corporal  B.,  who  could  perform  his  part  very  well,  and  to 
the  great  amusement  of  the  by-standers,  walked  with  a dignified 
air  to  the  post,  and  passing  the  sentinel,  went  up  to  the  general 
and  colonel,  who  were  seated  on  their  horses  about  10  yards 
outside  of  the  sentinel,  and  respectfully  saluting,  looked  up  to 
their  faces  and  said  in  the  simplest  and  most  compassionate 
manner,  “ Come  and  I will  take  you  in,’’  and  he  conducted 
them  past,  just  as  a servant  would  conduct  a stranger  past  the 
watch-dog. 

This  ludicrous  position  quite  overcame  the  general,  and  he 
laughed  outright,  and  was  joined  and  cheered  by  the  officers 
and  men  who  had  gathered  near  the  post. 

The  colonel’s  countenance  betrayed  anything  but  pleasant- 
ness. He  felt  ashamed  at  the  unmilitary  style  of  the  wording 
of  the  order,  which  had  occurred,  not  from  any  want  of  military 
knowledge  on  his  part,  but  from  his  precipitancy  and  careless- 
ness in  not  reading  the  order  before  it  was  sent  to  the  adjutant, 
and  also  from  the  ignorance  of  his  secretary,  who  had  been 
some  lawyer’s  clerk,  and,  being  newly  appointed,  wrote  more 
in  a legal  than  military  style. 

A dress  parade  was  ordered,  the  blundered  order  was  revoked, 

and  a new  “ special  order,  number ,”  was  read  out,  which 

was  worded,  “ Soldiers  passing  out  of  the  camp  for  water  shall 
be  accompanied  by  a non-commissioned  officer.” 

When  the  officers  marched  to  the  front  and  centre  the 
colonel,  in  saluting,  slightly  apologised  to  the  officers  for  the 
mistake,  and  explained  that  his  secretary  was  newly  appointed 
and  green  to  the  business,  and  that  he,  being  exceedingly  busy 
and  hurried  at  the  moment,  omitted  to  examine  the  order 
before  it  was  sent  to  the  adjutant,  and  for  which  he  was  to 
blame.  “ But,”  continued  he,  “ we  are  all  apt  to  make  little 
mistakes  at  first,  and  I hope  this  incident  will  tend  co  show 
both  you  and  me  the  great  importance  of  being  precise  and 
exact  in  everything  and  in  fulfilling  our  duties  strictly  to  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


179 


letter.  I commend  the  officer  of  the  day  for  his  strict  sense  of 
duty  and  firmness  in  strictly  carrying  out  the  order.’’ 

General  McCulloch  was  a man  about  40  years  of  age,  of  a 
well-proportioned,  wiry  frame,  with  a piercing  blue  eye,  and  a con- 
templative but  firm  expression  of  countenance.  He  had  held 
the  rank  of  major  in  the  United  States  army,  had  served  in 
the  Mexican  war,  and  had  been  much  engaged  in  warfare  with 
the  Indians.  He  was  a thoroughly  practical  general.  He  gave 
much  attention  to  the  nature  of  the  country  in  which  he  was 
going  to  operate.  He  made  himself  acquainted  with  every 
road  or  passage  through  which  an  army  with  trains  could  pass 
or  operate  in.  He  examined  every  river,  creek,  ford,  or  bridge 
where  an  enemy  could  be  checked  or  met  to  advantage.  He 
took  care  to  know  where  forage  and  supplies  were  to  be  pro- 
cured readiest,  and  noted  where  a pass  could  be  guarded, 
defended,  or  stopped  up,  or  where  a bridge  could  be  burned  or 
blown  up.  He  was  an  excellent  horseman  and  a most  able 
leader  of  rangers  or  irregular  cavalry,  and  could  take  them 
through  and  over  almost  impassable  barriers  of  rivers,  swamps, 
hills,  rocks,  woods,  or  copses.  He  was  not  so  particular  about 
clock-work  movements  in  drill  or  in  having  the  ranks  dressed 
straight  as  an  arrow,  but  he  was  particular  in  brigade  move- 
ments, that  proper  distances  were  kept,  and  that  corps  passed 
regularly  in  order  without  any  doubling  up  or  confusion,  and, 
above  all,  that  the  men  knew  well  to  handle  their  arms  and 
were  good  shots.  Of  this  latter  he  had  little  to  doubt,  as  few 
of  the  men,  even  the  youngest,  had  this  to  learn  after  joining 
the  army.  He  had  an  utter  abhorrence  of  all  red-tape  and 
bureau  government.  Had  the  latter  not  been  against  him,  and 
had  he  lived,  he  would  have  made  his  mark  as  a daring  general 
and  leader  of  a flying  column. 

Towards  the  end  of  June  it  became  well  known  that  the 
Federal  General  Lyon  had  raised  a large  army  and  was  over- 
running Missouri.  That  State  had  been  divided,  part  of  the 
population  favouring  the  North  and  part  favouring  the  South. 
General  Price,  the  Southern  leader  in  command  of  the  State 
forces,  had  retreated  to  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  where 
he  was  amassing  an  army  and  was  awaiting  assistance  from 
the  Confederate  Government. 

It  was  also  reported  that  Federal  agents  were  stirring  up 
the  Indians  against  the  Confederates  and  promising  them 
large  grants  if  they  would  assist  in  putting  down  the  rebellion  ; 


180 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


also  that  a notorious  leader  from  Kansas  named  Lane  had 
raised  a force  of  about  3000  in  the  Indian  Territory,  composed 
of  Indian  half-breeds  and  white  desperadoes,  and  was  meditating 
an  attack  on  Fort  Smith. 

Of  course  great  vigilance  was  exercised,  guards  and  outposts 
strengthened,  and  orders  given  for  the  troops  to  be  ready  to 
fall  in  at  a moment’s  notice ; and,  as  it  does  not  take  much  to 
raise  an  alarm,  several  alarms  did  take  place  during  the  night ; 
the  long-roll  was  beat,  and  the  regiment  was  quickly  out  and 
under  arms.  I believe,  however,  this  was  intended  to  test  the 
alacrity  of  the  meii  in  falling  in  and  to  train  them  in  that  sort 
of  thing. 

I afterwards  learnt,  by  conversation  with  some  men  of  good 
standing  among  the  Indians,  that  there  was  not  the  slightest 
foundation  for  the  report  that  the  Federal  Government  had 
tried  to  stir  up  the  red  men  against  the  Confederates  at  that 
time. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 


FIRST  EXPERIENCE  IN  MARCHING— TIMES  THAT  TRIED  MKN’s  SOLES — INCIDENTS 
OF  THE  MARCH— CAMP  WALKER  IN  ARKANSAS— ADVANCE  INTO  MISSOURI 
— DEMONSTRATIONS  OF  WELCOME — MEETING  THE  MISSOURI  STATE  TROOPS 
—CONCENTRATION  OF  THE  FORCES  AT  CRANE  CREEK— VICINITY  OF  THE 
ENEMY— COLONEL  MCINTOSH — SKIRMISHES  WITH  THE  ENEMY — GENERAL 
PRICE— SCARCITY  OF  PROVISIONS— NECESSITY  OF  FORCING  THE  FIGHTING. 

About  the  beginning  of  July,  the  regiment  had  got  quite 
efficient  for  every  useful  purpose,  and  we  received  orders  to 
march. 

Army  waggons  having  been  prepared  for  transport,  at  a very 
early  hour  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  July  (the  great 
American  anniversary  day),  the  waggons  were  brought  to  the 
camp,  and  one  was  allotted  to  each  company.  Tents  were 
struck  and  packed  into  the  waggons,  with  all  company 
stores,  cooking  utensils,  camp  equipage,  spare  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, and  other  company  property.  Orders  having  been  read 
out  on  parade  the  previous  evening  that  the  line  of  march 
would  be  by  way  of  Van  Buren,  crossing  the  Arkansas  river 
there,  and  proceeding  northward  by  the  Evansville  road,  the 
men  should  on  leaving  take  two  days’  cooked  rations  in  their 
haversacks,  and  on  halting  for  the  night,  the  troops  should  not 
pitch  tents  but  only  bivouac. 

When  the  men  went  to  draw  rations,  the  commissary 
insisted  on  having  requisitions  and  issue  for  four  days.  This 
the  men  rebelled  against,  which  led  to  another  squabble 
between  them  and  the  commissary.  The  object  of  the  latter 
was  to  give  the  men  a larger  share  of  the  provisions  to  carry, 
and  so  lighten  his  own  waggons  that  he  might  be  enabled  to 
carry  more  goods  for  his  own  speculative  purposes. 

Where  we  were  to  proceed  to  we  had  no  information,  but 
we  understood  that  the  Confederate  Army  of  the  West  would 
assemble  at  Camp  Walker,  near  Maysville,  in  the  north-western 
extremity  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  a place  about  80  miles 
distant  in  a direct  line,  but  about  110  miles  by  the  road  we 
would  have  to  travel.  The  name  Camp  Walker  seemed 
strange  and  unpleasant,  and  we  hoped  it  would  not  be  like  the 


182 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


last  Camp  Walker.  But  why  the  name?  Who  or  what  were 
the  two  camps  named  after  ? The  only  noted  personage  of  that 
name  that  we  knew  of  was  the  late  Filibuster  Walker  of 
Nicaraguan  notoriety,  but  we  did  not  consider  him  of  sufficient 
fame  or  importance  to  have  camps  named  after  him.  Who 
the  camps  were  named  after  was  of  little  importance  to  us,  and 
we  never  knew  or  took  the  trouble  to  inquire  further. 

The  hay  being  taken  out  of  the  bed-sacks,  and  with  other 
light  material  which  had  gathered,  was  set  fire  to  according  to 
custom.  It  was  said  at  this  time  that  an  effigy  of  the  com- 
missary was  burned  in  the  flames,  but  I did  not  see  it. 

While  the  refuse  of  the  camp  was  burning  in  the  dark 
morning,  we  formed  and  took  up  our  line  of  march  at  the  first 
dawn  of  day.  We  marched  down  the  river  bank  until  opposite 
Van  Buren,  which  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  and  some 
miles  from  Fort  Smith.  Here  we  waited  while  the  waggons 
were  being  ferried  over. 

The  trains  consisted  of  the  10  company  waggons,  officers^ 
waggon,  stafi*  waggon,  quarter-master’s  and  commissary  waggons 
— in  all  about  20  waggons,  with  four  or  six  mules  to  each. 
Forage  would  be  found  on  the  road  as  we  proceeded. 

The  trains  having  crossed,  we  were  ferried  over  two  cQm- 
panies  at  a time,  that  being  about  as  much  as  the  boat  could 
conveniently  carry. 

All  having  crossed,  the  regiment  formed  on  the  other  side 
and  proceeded  up  the  bank  from  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas 
river.  The  road  lay  uphill,  and  was  very  rough  and  stony, 
while  the  sun  poured  down  with  such  force  that  the  granite 
boulders  by  the  side  of  the  road  were  so  hot  that  they  could 
not  be  sat  upon  if  a halt  for  a few  minutes  was  called. 

The  country  on  both  sides  of  the  road  was  cleared  but  of 
rather  a poor  appearance,  divided  into  patches  of  Indian  corn, 
enclosed  by  rail  fences.  There  were  no  trees  to  afibrd  any 
kind  of  shade.  At  length  the  call  was  sounded  to  halt  for  the 
night  near  a farm-house,  about  nine  miles  from  the  river  and 
about  1 6 miles  from  the  camp  at  Fort  Smith,  which  we  had  left 
in  the  morning.  The  men  having  two  days’  cooked  rations  in 
their  haversacks,  the  waggons  were  not  unpacked  or  fires 
lighted.  The  men  rolled  themselves  in  their  blankets  and  lay 
down  to  sleep  on  the  side  of  the  road. 

About  half -past  three  the  reveille  was  sounded,  and  the  line 
of  march  was  taken  up  at  four.  The  object  now  was  to  get 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


183 


the  march  accomplished  before  the  intense  heat  of  the  day  set 
in.  The  men  were  in  no  great  spirits ; they  had  been  a good 
deal  fatigued,  had  got  but  a poor  night’s  rest,  and  thought 
they  might  have  been  allowed  to  make  themselves  at  least 
a cup  of  hot  cojffee  before  marching.  They  were  given  to 
understand  that,  as  far  as  possible,  this  would  be  provided  for 
in  future ; that  this  was  merely  a halt  for  rest  and  no  camp  at 
all,  there  being  no  proper  place  to  camp. 

The  second  day’s  march  was  worse  than  the  first.  It  was 
not  all  uphill,  but  the  road  was  very  rough  and  the  sun  was 
intensely  hot.  Canteens  were  soon  empty,  and  water  was 
scarce  at  times,  but,  on  the  whole,  the  country  was  fairly 
supplied  with  water.  As  the  sun  grew  hotter  some  of  the 
men  began  to  drop  out.  Always  as  one  would  show  signs  of 
giving  out  the  others  would  laugh  and  cry  “ Played  out,” 
“ Played  out,”  which  would  induce  the  wearied  volunteer  to 
make  an  effort  to  struggle  on.  It  was  now  evident  that  the 
men  were  too  heavily  loaded  for  the  first  start  at  least,  not 
being  yet  inured  to  marching  over  such  roads  in  such  intense 
heat.  A good  many  fell  out  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  make 
them  keep  up,  but  these  men  always  came  up  an  hour  or  two 
after  we  got  into  camp.  About  2 p.m.  we  got  to  the  end  of 
our  second  day’s  march,  about  18  miles  from  where  we  started 
in  the  morning.  This  place  was  more  pleasing  than  that  of 
the  previous  night ; a fine  shady  wood  grew  on  the  banks  of  a 
gravelly  creek,  down  which  ran  a stream  of  beautifully  clear 
water.  The  men  were  soon  divested  of  their  heavy  load  of 
knapsack  and  accoutrements.  Many  of  them  were  suffering 
from  sore  and  blistered  feet  from  marching  on  the  hot  stony 
roads,  and  most  of  them  had  their  boots  and  stockings  off  and 
were  bathing  their  feet  in  the  stream.  The  camp,  however, 
had  to  be  guarded  to  prevent  the  stream  from  pollution  by  the 
men  washing  or  bathing  above  a certain  point.  Below  this 
point  there  were  some  fine  deep  pools,  which  were  soon  filled 
with  bathers  and  men  washing  parts  of  their  clothing,  which 
were  saturated  with  dust  and  perspiration. 

In  about  two  hours  the  waggons  came  up,  every  company 
looking  out  for  their  own  waggon,  which  they  brought  up  as 
near  to  their  bivouac  as  possible.  Cooking  utensils  were  got 
out,  rations  drawn,  fires  lighted,  and  the  cooking  of  supper 
commenced. 

The  men  complained  of  the  heavy  loads  they  had  to  carry^ 


184 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


and,  piling  up  the  total  of  rifle,  sabre,  belt,  and  accoutrements, 
40  rounds  of  ammunition,  knapsack,  blanket,  one  day’s  rations, 
and  canteen  of  water,  the  whole  was  taken  to  the  commissary’s 
scales  and  found  to  weigh  42  lbs.;  but  as  these  were  the  scales 
by  which  the  commissary  weighed  their  rations,  they  declared 
the  result  a cheat  to  the  extent  of  20  per  cent,  at  least. 
They  therefore  allowed  8 lbs.  oflT;  still  34  lbs.  was  rather  much 
to  carry  on  such  rough  roads  under  a broiling  sun. 

Arrangements  were  then  made  that  the  knapsacks  and 
blankets  might  be  put  into  the  company  waggon  and  the  men 
allowed  to  march  without  them.  This  was  a great  relief,  and 
as  there  would  always  be  some  means  of  cooking  at  night,  they 
were  allowed  to  take  in  their  haversacks  just  what  provisions 
they  chose.  Tattoo  was  now  dispensed  with,  and  the  men 
were  allowed  to  go  to  sleep  as  soon  as  they  pleased.  Reveille 
was  ordered  to  be  sounded  at  2 a.m.,  and  the  order  of  march  to 
be  taken  up  at  half-past  three.  Very  early  in  the  night  the 
men  were  wrapt  in  their  blankets  and  fast  asleep.  A little 
before  midnight  our  company  was  disturbed  by  a commotion 
in  the  next  company,  and  some  of  the  men  coming  over  and 
lying  down  near  our  bivouac.  We  asked  what  was  the  matter. 
It  appeared  that  they  had  formed  their  bivouac  under  a very 
large  shady  tree,  and  imagined  they  would  be  very  comfortable 
for  the  night.  But  this  proved  no  exception  to  the  rule  that 
“ the  best  laid  schemes  of  mice  and  men  gang  aft  aglee.”  It 
seemed  the  tree  had  been  already  occupied  by  another  tenant 
in  the  shape  of  a ‘‘skunk”  (or  pole  cat),  which,  considering 
that  he  had  a prior  claim,  threw  out  his  fumes  among  the 
intruders  on  his  domain  with  such  effect  as  to  cause  a speedy 
retreat. 

“A  pretty  set  of  fellows  you  are,’  said  our  men,  “to  be 
driven  from  your  position  by  a skunk.”  “ Go  over  there  and 
try  it,”  said  they.  Our  men,  however,  were  not  inclined  to 
encounter  such  an  enemy,  and  soon  all  were  fast  asleep  again. 

At  half-past  two  reveille  was  sounded,  the  men  turned  out, 
and  the  roll  was  called.  The  men  had  had  a good  night’s  rest, 
but  many  of  them  were  stift'  and  their  feet  so  swollen  and  sore 
that  they  had  to  crawl  up  to  answer  to  their  names.  Fires 
were  quickly  kindled,  coffee  made,  and  breakfast  partaken  of ; 
while  some  of  the  men  fomented  their  feet  in  hot  water  to 
enable  them  to  get  on  their  boots. 

Cooking  utensils,  spare  rations,  knapsacks,  and  blankets 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


185 


were  packed  into  the  waggons  and  all  covered  over  carefully 
and  strapped  down.  The  line  was  formed,  and  at  half-past 
three  the  bugle  sounded  the  advance.  The  morning  was  cool 
and  pleasant  for  marching,  but  it  was  very  dark,  and  that  was 
a great  disadvantage. 

The  road,  if  it  might  be  so  called,  was  full  of  deep  ruts, 
stumps,  and  large  stones.  Of  course  the  men  marched  “ Route 
step  and  “ Arms-at-will,’’  but  the  darkness  did  not  allow  them 
to  see  the  stumps  and  stones,  and  their  feet,  sore  and  tender, 
often  struck  against  them,  causing  some  poor  fellows  to  suffer 
the  most  excruciating  pain,  which  was  made  more  vexatious  by 
the  laughing  taunts  of  their  comrades,  such  as,  “Kick  that 
stump  again,  man “You  haven’t  knocked  it  out  yet or, 
“ Give  that  stone  another  kick  and  knock  it  out  of  the  way.” 

As  daylight  set  in  the  men  could  see  their  way  better,  and 
their  feet  got  a little  easier  as  they  got  seasoned  by  walking, 
and  camp  was  reached  about  one  o’clock. 

This  was  also  a fine  place  for  camping  on  the  banks  of  a 
creek  considerably  larger  than  the  last.  The  banks  of  a creek 
were  always  selected,  if  possible,  for  camp,  as  it  afforded  a 
plentiful  supply  of  water;  due  precaution  being  taken  to 
encamp  on  that  side  which  would  be  most  favourable  for  the 
army  to  be  on,  should  a rise  of  the  water  take  place  during 
the  night  and  render  it  unfordable,  as  frequently  took  place 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  The  marks  on  the  banks  of  this 
creek,  as  in  most  others,  showed  that  it  was  subject  to 
sudden  rises  and  overflows. 

The  same  routine  was  here  gone  through  in  cooking,  wash- 
ing, bathing,  etc.,  and  some  of  the  boys  succeeded  in  catching 
some  fine  fish,  with  which  the  stream  abounded.  The  men 
were  now  beginning  to  learn  the  business  and  suit  themselves 
to  the  work,  and  were  making  great  progress  in  foraging  and 
cooking.  The  rations  .served  out  was  flour,  which  they  had  to 
make  into  bread  themselves,  for  which  purpose  they  had  to 
provide  themselves  with  skillets,  which  they  used  as  ovens ; 
and  they  soon  learned  to  make  excellent  bread  or  biscuits,  as 
they  were  called,  the  quality  being,  no  doubt,  greatly  improved 
by  a sharp  appetite,  with  which  they  were  all  particularly  well 
supplied  by  the  fine  air  of  the  country  and  the  marching  and 
exercise. 

Having  here  enjoyed  another  good  night’s  rest,  the  men 
were  in  better  condition  than  the  previous  morning.  Boots 


186 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


had  been  eased  or  changed,  and  their  feet  had  somewhat 
recovered,  but  a toilsome  march  was  this  day  before  them — to 
cross  Boston  Mountain.  This  was  a high  mountain,  probably 
the  lowest  one  of  a range  which  extends  along  the  north- 
western part  of  Arkansas,  and  over  which  the  road  passed. 

About  10  o’clock  we  reached  the  foot  of  this  mountain,  and 
were  about  three  miles  from  the  top.  The  ascent  was  steep 
and  toilsome.  The  sun  was  intensely  hot,  and  the  road  was 
very  bad,  with  deep  holes,  rocks,  stones,  and  stumps,  and  we 
wondered  how  the  waggons  would  ever  get  over  it.  A number 
of  men  had  been  detailed  to  assist  in  getting  them  past  the 
worst  places,  but  it  was  a heavy  task  to  get  them  over.  We 
at  length  reached  the  top,  hot  and  fatigued. 

The  descent  on  the  other  side  did  not  begin  at  once.  There 
was  a considerable  extent  of  undulating  tableland,  and,  as 
soon  as  the  left  of  the  regiment  had  got  up,  a halt  was  called 
for  rest  and  to  be  ready  in  case  more  men  were  wanted  to 
assist  in  getting  the  waggons  up  the  hill.  The  mountain  was 
wooded  to  the  top,  and,  there  being  some  shade,  a little  rest 
was  enjoyed.  After  great  toil  and  exertion  the  waggons  were 
got  up,  and  we  marched  on  and  descended  on  the  other  side. 
We  were  later  of  getting  into  camp  that  day,  but  were  all 
pleased  that  we  had  got  over  one  bad  part  of  the  journey. 
Our  next  day’s  march  showed  a little  difference  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  country.  As  we  got  more  northwards  vegetation 
seemed  to  be  a little  later,  and  the  country  was  getting  to 
have  a more  northern  appearance.  Wheat  and  oats  were  now 
to  be  seen  in  the  fields.  The  large,  rich  brambleberries,  which 
grow  in  great  abundance  along  the  roads,  which  we  had  been 
enjoying,  and  which  on  the  south  side  of  the  mountain  range 
were  dead  ripe  and  falling  off  the  bushes,  were  on  this — the 
north  side — scarcely  ripe.  The  country,  however,  seemed  more 
fertile  and  was  more  thickly  settled.  The  woods  were 
mostly  of  oak  trees,  and  great  numbers  of  pigs,  in  a semi- 
wild state,  roamed  in  them  at  large.  These  animals  had 
belonged  to  the  different  settlers,  but  being  turned  into  the 
woods  to  feed  on  roots  and  acorns,  with  the  optional  order,  as 
it  was  said,  to  ‘‘  Boot,  hog,  or  die,”  these  animals  had  bred  in 
these  woods  and  had  become  partially  wild,  and  were  strictly 
the  property  of  no  one,  or,  as  it  might  be  said,  they  had  with 
a true  American  instinct  disavowed  their  allegiance  to  anyone 
and  declared  their  independence. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


18T 


Day  after  day  the  march  now  became  pleasanter,  and  we 
were  getting  used  to  it,  and  marches  of  from  15  to  20  miles 
a day  we  accomplished  easily. 

The  country  now  was  beautiful;  interspersed  with  fine 
woods  and  small  prairies,  through  which  ran  many  fine 
streams  and  pebbly  brooks ; and  many  fine  springs  of  water 
ran  from  the  mountain  sides. 

That  part  of  a soldier’s  duty  which  implies  a regard  for 
number  one  the  boys  learned  very  rapidly,  and  generally  one 
or  two  provided  with  money  would  contrive  to  drop  out  of 
the  line  and  visit  the  farm-houses  and  make  purchases.  The 
farmers  being  far  from  a market,  produce  was  plentiful  and 
money  scarce,  and  they  were  glad  to  sell ; and  such  things  as 
fowls,  eggs,  butter,  milk,  potatoes,  venison,  etc.,  could  be 
bought  cheap.  I have  seen  a fine  turkey  bought  for  a quarter 
of  a dollar.  This  was  the  first  time  that  an  army,  or  indeed 
any  large  body  of  men,  had  visited  the  country,  and  the  rustic 
settlers  little  knew  what  was  to  follow. 

In  the  meantime  the  strictest  orders  had  been  issued  against 
any  plundering,  damaging  of  property,  or  molesting  the  inhabi- 
tants in  any  way. 

About  this  time  the  first  violation  of  this  order  took  place, 
and  the  transgressors  were  quickly  punished,  although  in  rather 
an  odd  manner. 

A few  days  after  passing  Boston  Mountain  we  camped  in  a 
wood  near  to  which  was  a large  field  of  oats,  part  of  which 
had  been  cUt  down  and  was  in  shocks.  The  ground  where  we 
lay  was  covered  with  stones  and  gravel  and  a little  hard  to 
rest  upon. 

Some  of  the  boys,  unlike  Jacob  and  less  honestly  disposed, 
were  not  inclined  to  use  stones  for  their  pillow,  and,  casting  a 
longing  eye  on  the  shocks  of  oats,  thought  that  a sheaf  would 
answer  the  purpose  much  better. 

Accordingly  when  darkness  set  in  one  or  two  of  them  sallied 
out  and  securing  one  or  two  sheaves  soon  made  themselves  a 
comfortable  bed ; and  as  one  sickly  sheep  infects  the  flock,  the 
temptation  was  great  and  many  others  followed  their  example 
and  lay  down  on  the  fragrant  oats,  and  soon  afterwards  all 
were  in  silent  repose. 

Some  time  before  midnight  I was  woke  up  by  a loud  cry 
from  a man  near  to  me,  and  springing  up  I saw  him  struggling 
as  if  to  retain  hold  of  something,  and  he  was  dragged  oft‘ 


188 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


seemingly  by  the  neck  by  some  unseen  foe.  I sprang  to  his 
assistance,  but  ere  I discovered  who  his  assailant  was  some- 
thing gave  way  and  some  monster  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

Before  I had  time  to  think,  my  attention  was  attracted 
by  the  whole  camp  in  commotion.  And  there  was  such  a 
tremendous  rustling,  struggling,  grunting,  squealing,  swearing, 
intermixed  with  imprecations,  exclamations,  and  loud  shouts 
of  laughter,  and  such  expressions  as  ‘‘  Oh,  man,  don’t  hurt  the 
pig,  you  might  be  a pig  yourself  one  of  those  days.”  I knew 
from  this  that  it  was  nothing  serious.  Some  of  my  comrades 
began  to  wake  up  and  rub  their  eyes,  when  suddenly  a pig  in 
a state  of  frenzy  rushed  into  the  circle  in  which  we  lay,  and 
running  over  some  of  the  sleeping  men  dashed  right  up 
against  me,  showing  that  pigs  don’t  see  well  in  the  dark. 
Half  stupified  and  scarcely  knowing  what  I did,  I dealt  the 
brute  a tremendous  blow  with  my  hst,  which  sent  it  reeling 
away  from  me.  Whether  the  animal  had  been  previously 
wounded,  or  Avhether  the  blow  fell  upon  some  vital  part,  I do 
not  know,  but  it  staggered  back  and  fell  dead  right  across  the 
neck  of  our  captain,  who  lay  snoring  near  me. 

“ What  the  devil  is  that  ? ” roared  the  captain,  as  he 
struggled  to  get  up  from  under  the  load. 

“ A pig,”  said  one  of  the  men,  as  he  pulled  the  dead  animal 
off  him  ; “ and  it  is  dead,  too.” 

“A  pig,”  said  the  captain.  “Where  did  it  come  from? 
Who  killed  it  ? ” 

“ I don’t  know,”  said  the  man ; “it  ran  over  the  top  of  me 
and  up  against  the  sergeant,  and  he  struck  it  a blow  with  his 
fist  and  killed  it.” 

“ Killed  it  with  his  fist ! Impossible.” 

“Yes,  he  did,”  said  the  man ; “I  saw  him  do  it.” 

“ Killed  a pig  with  his  fist ! Well,  now,  that’s  good,”  said 
ther  captain.  “ If  the  sergeant  killed  that  pig  with  his  fist,  I 
would  just  advise  you  to  take  care  of  that  fist,  that’s  all,”  and 
he  rolled  over  and  went  to  sleep  again. 

The  cause  of  the  whole  disturbance  can  be  easily  explained. 
A herd  of  pigs,  which  had  been  roaming  in  the  woods, 
attracted  by  the  smell  of  the  fresh  oats  which  the  men  were 
lying  upon,  and  probably  by  the  dirty  garb  and  loud  snoring  of 
the  men  imagined  in  the  darkness  that  they  were  of  their  own 
species  that  lay  upon  the  oats.  They  therefore,  without  ceremony, 
began  to  feast  upon  the  oats,  inserting  their  snouts  under  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


189 


sleepers,  and  rolling  them  over  to  get  at  the  provender.  Many 
of  the  men,  being  considerably  fatigued,  slept  so  soundly 
that  they  never  woke  up,  but  were  rooted  over  and  over  by 
the  pigs,  and  had  their  bed  eaten  up  without  their  knowing 
anything  about  it.  Others,  waking  up,  attacked  and  drove  off 
the  pigs,  which,  in  their  fright,  ran  against  other  sleepers  and 
woke  them  up,  until  the  whole  camp  was  in  commotion.  A 
young  man  in  our  company  was  the  possessor  of  an  exceedingly 
good  appetite,  and  to  gratify  it  was  one  of  his  greatest  cares. 
He  was  the  son  of  a small  farmer,  and  one  of  his  greatest 
luxuries  was  corn  bread,  to  which  he  had  no  doubt  been  much 
accustomed  in  his  childhood.  As  yet  this  had  not  been  a part  of 
the  army  rations,  and  Preston,  or  Press,  as  he  was  called, 
seemed  much  to  miss  his  favourite  food,  and  when  he  could  get 
an  opportunity  would  purchase  it  at  some  of  the  farm- 
houses along  the  road.  Press  was,  however,  subjected  to  much 
annoyance  from  some  of  the  younger  members  of  the  company 
who,  partly  out  of  a similar  fondness  for  the  article,  and  partly 
for  mischief,  took  delight  in  making  raids  into  his  haversack. 
It  seemed  that  on  that  day  Press  had  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a fine  supply  of  corn  bread,  and  fearing  that  some  of  his 
mischievous  comrades  would  be  making  inroads  into  his  haver- 
sack, he  took  the  precaution,  when  lying  down  to  sleep,  to  keep 
it  by  him  with  the  strap  passed  over  the  shoulder  as  usual. 
When  the  pigs  entered  the  camp,  the  smell  of  the  corn  bread, 
once  encountered,  was  no  doubt  the  greatest  attraction,  and  as 
the  law  of  might  is  right  even  among  pigs,  a big  fierce  grunter 
soon  drove  off  the  smaller  fry,  and  seizing  the  haversack  in  its 
jaws,  endeavoured  to  carry  it  off,  dragging  the  owner  with  it. 
The  haversack  was  torn  and  the  corn  bread  scattered  on  the 
ground,  which  Preston  proceeded  to  eat  forthwith  lest  some 
other  attack  should  be  made  on  it.  The  camp  was  soon  quiet, 
and  the  men  fast  asleep  again,  but  that  night’s  disturbance 
created  a hostile  feeling  between  the  regiment  and  the  pigs 
which  led  to  open  war,  and  many  a fine  grunter  was  roasted 
in  revenge  for  that  night’s  aggression,  and  General  McCulloch 
once  rebuking  them  afterwards  for  their  action  towards  the 
pigs,  told  them  he  believed  he  would  rather  be  a ‘‘  Federal  ” 
than  a pig  in  presence  of  the  3rd  Louisiana  Regiment. 

About  two  days  after  this  incident  we  reached  Camp 
Walker,  having  had  now  a little  addition  to  our  training  in  the 
way  of  marching  and  bivouacking. 


190 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Camp  Walker,  like  Fort  Smith,  was  on  the  border  of  the 
Indian  Territory.  On  a slightly  rising  ground  in  the  middle  of 
a fine  open  prairie  several  square  miles  in  extent,  there 
were  some  newly  erected  wooden  buildings  like  a barracks, 
from  which  rose  a very  high  flag-pole,  carrying  an  enormous 
Confederate  flag.  On  the  edges  of  the  woods  surrounding  the 
prairie  were  rows  of  tents  showing  the  encampments  of 
difierent  regiments  and  corps  from  Arkansas  and  Texas,  while 
on  the  prairie  detachments  of  cavalry  and  artillery  were 
manoeuvring.  We  marched  across  the  country  greeted  with 
the  usual  cheers  of  welcome,  and  our  camp  was  laid  out  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  prairie.  A regular  camp  was  here 
formed,  waggons  were  unpacked  and  tents  pitched.  Here  we 
were  to  remain  for  a few  days  until  the  whole  army  should  be 
ready  to  march  into  Missouri. 

The  army  waggons  were  now  sent  away  to  accumulate  stores 
at  Fayetteville,  that  town  being  now  an  advanced  depot  for 
supplies. 

Troops  continued  to  arrive  from  difierent  parts  of  Arkansas 
and  Texas,  and  company,  battalion,  and  brigade  drill  was  per- 
severed in,  and  various  extended  manoeuvres  on  the  prairie  of 
foot,  horse,  and  artillery  were  gone  through,  and  several  detach- 
ments of  mounted  infantry  were  reconnoitring  the  country 
northwards. 

Here  we  learned  that  the  Federal  army  had  advanced  into 
the  south  of  Missouri,  and  had  had  some  engagements  with  the 
State  troops  under  General  Price. 

After  remaining  here  about  10  days’  drilling  and  preparing, 
we  received  orders  to  march.  Tents  were  struck,  waggons 
packed,  and  we  were  again  on  the  move. 

We  proceeded  eastward,  passing  through  the  town  of  Ben- 
ton ville,  other  regiments  proceeding  by  difierent  routes.  The 
object  of  difierent  corps  marching  by  various  routes  when  not 
immediately  in  front  of  the  enemy  was  to  obtain  forage  and 
supplies  easier  and  harass  the  country  less  by  spreading  the 
demand  more  over  it.  We  bivouacked  at  night  and  proceeded 
in  the  early  morning  as  before.  After  passing  through  Ben- 
tonville  we  turned  northward  and  crossed  the  line  into  Missouri, 
and  the  second  day  after  crossing  the  line  we  passed  through 
the  town  of  Cassville.  Here  we  were  received  with  loud 
cheering  and  great  demonstrations  of  welcome.  But  I,  for 
one,  put  very  little  faith  in  these  demonstrations ; they  were 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


191 


things  that  were  easily  got  up,  and  were  generally  composed 
of  the  scum  and  rabble,  and,  though  that  class  might  be 
sometimes  fairly  represented  in  them,  yet  they  were  often  far 
from  being  expressive  of  the  true  sentiments  of  the  people. 

After  passing  Cassville  we  came  up  with  a part  of  Price’s 
army  of  Missouri  State  troops.  These  men  seemed  to  out- 
demonstrate  all  the  demonstrations  we  had  yet  seen ; for,  in 
their  excitement  of  cheering  and  firing  of  salutes,  they  exploded 
a barrel  of  gunpowder,  which  blew  some  of  themselves  into  the 
air.  Whether  this  was  by  accident  or  intentional  we  never 
learned,  but  we  considered  such  displays  of  zeal  to  be  quite 
overstepping  the  thing. 

Some  three  days  after  passing  Cassville  we  halted  and  camped 
for  a few  days  at  a place  called  Sugar  Creek.  This  halt  was  to 
allow  the  other  forces  to  come  up  and  concentrate. 

While  here  we  heard  from  the  Missouri  troops  of  their 
engagement  with  the  Federal  troops  at  Carthage,  and  of 
McCulloch  having  captured  500  prisoners  at  Neosheo.  We 
also  heard  here  of  the  rout  of  the  Federal  army  at  Bull  Bun, 
and  that  the  Federal  General  Lyon  was  at  Springfield,  about 
35  miles  distant,  with  a force  of  nearly  20,000  men,  a con- 
siderable number  of  whom  were  United  States  troops  and  part 
of  the  regular  army. 

The  difierent  corps  now  began  to  come  up,  and  the  forces 
were  kept  closer  together. 

Our  total  force  was  now,  of  Confederate  troops  under  General 
McCulloch,  about  5000  infantry,  2000  cavalry  or  mounted 
infantry,  and  two  batteries  of  artillery  of  six  guns  each — in 
all,  about  7400  of  all  arms.  These  were  all  efficient  troops, 
well  armed,  and  fairly  disciplined. 

Of  Missouri  State  troops  under  General  Price  there  were 
about  8000  men  of  all  arms.  Of  these  about  3000  were 
mounted  infantry  and  one  battery  of  artillery.  About  half  of 
this  force  was  well  armed,  the  rest  being  supplied  with  flint- 
lock muskets,  hunting  rifles,  and  double-barrel  shot-guns.  They 
were  very  enthusiastic,  but  seemed  to  have  more  zeal  than 
discipline. 

All  the  forces  and  trains  being  now  forward,  we  received  orders 
to  advance.  Troops  to  bivouac  at  night ; no  tents  to  be  taken 
except  one  for  each  company  to  keep  arms  and  ammunition 
dry  in  case  of  rain. 

We  were  now  declared  to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  the  enemy. 


192 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


and  the  strictest  caution  and  vigilance  were  enjoined.  Our 
regiment  was  assigned  to  the  post  of  honour  on  the  right,  and 
our  company  on  the  right  of  the  regiment  acted  as  advanced 
guard. 

About  two  days  afterwards  it  was  reported  that  the  enemy 
was  advancing  to  meet  us,  and  we  took  a position  at  a place 
called  Crane  Creek.  This  creek  was  a fine  clear  stream,  and 
along  the  banks  was  a good  deal  of  level  ground  suitable  for 
camping,  the  creek  supplying  abundance  of  water.  The  position 
was  a good  one  for  defence,  surrounded  by  hilly  land  covered 
with  wood.  The  approach  from  the  north  by  which  the  enemy 
must  come  was  by  a broad  road,  on  both  sides  of  which  was 
high  ground,  steep  and  rugged  in  many  places  and  covered 
with  small  wood  of  oak,  hickory,  and  hazel.  On  the  high 
ground  on  both  sides  of  this  road  our  lines  were  to  be  formed 
in  case  of  an  attack.  We  found  that  the  enemy  had  advanced 
to  within  seven  miles  of  our  position,  and  the  advanced  pickets 
of  both  armies  were  within  a short  distance  of  each  other. 

We  were  in  an  excellent  position  for  acting  on  the  defensive, 
but,  being  far  from  our  base  of  operation,  our  supplies  were 
getting  short,  and  the  army  was  subsisting  chiefly  upon  green 
corn  obtained  from  the  neighbouring  fields,  and  it  soon  became 
evident  that  we  must  force  the  fighting.  Every  device  was 
tried  to  induce  the  enemy  to  make  the  attack,  but  they  were 
not  to  be  caught,  and,  seeming  to  guess  at  our  position,  tried 
every  means  to  induce  us  to  attack  them,  and  skirmishes 
frequently  took  place.  They  made  several  feints  and  drove  in 
our  pickets,  and  once  or  twice  every  day  we  would  be  called 
out  to  take  our  position. 

The  enemy  had  some  excellent  cavalry — dragoons  of  the 
United  States  regular  army.  These  would  follow  up  our 
pickets  almost  to  our  lines,  but  managed,  owing  to  the  nature 
of  the  country,  to  keep  out  of  the  range  of  our  artillery. 

I had  often  heard  my  Scotch  friend,  P.,  who  had  been 
appointed  drum-major,  but  still  messed  with  and  was  a member 
of  our  company,  speak  in  very  high  terms  of  a certain  Captain 
MTntosh,  a captain  of  cavalry  in  the  United  States  army, 
under  whom  he  had  formerly  served.  This  gentleman  ho 
described  as  a most  able  and  gallant  officer,  of  Scotch  parentage, 
but  born  in  the  State  of  Florida,  who,  when  secession  took 
place,  resigned  his  commission  and  ofiered  his  services  to  the 
South.  P.  had  learned  that  he  was  with  the  Army  of  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


209 


Crane  Creek,  but  it  afforded  space  on  both  sides  of  the  creek 
for  the  forces  to  concentrate.  Throughout  the  day  the 
remainder  of  the  division  came  up. 

I may  here  say  that  McCulloch  was  only  a brigadier-general, 
while  the  force  under  his  command  would  comprise  a division. 
He  was  far  from,  and  could  have  but  little  communication 
with,  the  War  Department  at  Richmond,  and  presumably  had 
no  great  influence  there.  Not  having  full  power  to  act  or 
appoint,  he  had  temporarily  divided  his  forces  into  two  brigades, 
commanding  both  himself,  with  Colonel  MTntosh  as  his 
assistant. 

General  Price,  with  the  Missouri  State  troops  not  being  in 
the  Confederate  service,  was  simply  an  ally,  and  the  two 
generals  had  to  act  in  concert. 

Towards  evening  Price’s  forces  began  to  come  up,  encamping 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek.  About  sunset  we  were 
rejoiced  at  the  arrival  of  some  waggons  with  provisions.  The 
general’s  threat  had  not  been  without  its  effect.  Rations  of 
flour,  fresh  beef,  salt,  and  a little  coffee  and  sugar,  were  served 
out;  and  some  cooking  utensils  were  obtained,  and  cooking 
and  eating  gone  into  with  great  vigour,  and  we  enjoyed  a fair 
night’s  rest. 

We  had  lately  been  slightly  annoyed  by  little  insects,  with 
which  the  grass  in  the  woods  abounded.  They  were  called  red 
bugs,  a small  kind  of  spider  of  a red  colour.  They  fastened  on 
the  skin,  and  caused  a good  deal  of  scratching ; but  they  were 
nothing  to  mosquitoes,  the  remembrance  of  which  made  all 
other  annoyances  of  that  kind  seem  slight.  In  this  camp  these 
red  bugs  were  very  plentiful ; and  the  men  slept  on  the  banks 
of  the  creek,  which  were  steep,  sloping  down  towards  the  water. 
The  banks  were  covered  with  large  round  pebbles,  and  the 
itching  from  the  bites  of  these  insects  caused  the  men  in  their 
sleep  to  roll  or  welter  (after  the  fashion  of  a horse  or  mule)  on 
their  backs,  and  the  round  pebbles  on  which  they  lay,  rolling, 
caused  them  to  work  downwards,  until  several  of  them  in  their 
unconscious  state  rolled  into  the  creek,  which  was  here  about 
a foot  deep,  to  the  great  amusement  of  such  as  had  been 
awakened  by  the  splashing  and  exclamations  of  their  drenched 
comrades. 

By  the  morning  all  the  forces  were  up,  and  the  camp  was 
put  into  some  kind  of  order  and  position.  On  the  one  side 
of  the  creek  were  the  Confederate  troops  under  McCulloch,  each 

0 


210 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


company  having  one  tent  to  keep  the  arms  and  ammunition 
dry.  The  general’s  tent  and  headquarters  were  close  to  our 
bivouac.  Beyond  that,  on  the  extreme  right,  was  Woodruff’s 
battery  of  six  guns.  To  the  left  of  us  were  the  different  regi- 
ments of  infantry  of  Arkansas  and  Texas  troops,  and  on  the 
extreme  left  was  Reid’s  battery  of  six  guns ; Churchhill’s  regi- 
ment of  mounted  infantry  being  somewhere  on  the  left,  also 
the  Texas  rangers.  These  mounted  troops  were  often  on  the 
move  reconnoitring. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream  were  several  grassy  ridges, 
the  principal  of  which  terminated  in  a hill  about  half-a-mile 
from  the  creek.  This  hill,  near  the  top,  was  covered  with 
stunted  or  scrub  oak  trees,  and  it  bore  the  name  of  “ Oakhill.” 
On  the  grassy  ridges,  forming  the  spurs  of  this  hill.  Price’s 
division  was  encamped. 

In  this  position  we  lay  for  about  three  days,  rather  inactive. 
Here  J.  S.  got  into  another  serious  difficulty.  He  had  all 
along  been  somewhat  morose  and  sullen,  but  always  prompt 
to  duty.  He  was  now  charged  with  assaulting  a field  officer. 
I never  learned  the  exact  particulars,  but  it  seemed  he  had 
been  doing  something  about  some  of  the  waggons,  and  was 
challenged  by  the  major  and  ordered  away,  and  he  had  retorted 
or  refused,  which  led  to  high  words,  resulting  in  the  assault. 
This  was  a high  offence,  and  he  was  put  under  arrest,  to  be 
tried  by  court-martial. 

It  was  now  known  that  the  enemy  had  fallen  back  to 
Springfield,  and  were  entrenching  themselves  there.  Spring- 
field  was  a place  of  some  importance.  It  was  the  principal 
town  in  the  southern  part  of  Missouri,  and  there  converged 
the  roads  leading  from  Kansas,  from  the  Indian  Territory,  and 
from  Arkansas,  and  leading  northwards  towards  St.  Louis. 
It  was  plain  we  would  now  have  to  force  the  fighting.  The 
enemy  was  all  right.  They  were  resting  upon  their  base  of 
operations,  in  a commanding  position,  with  abundance  of  sup- 
plies, and  their  force  likely  to  be  augmented. 

We  were  far  from  our  base  of  operations,  deficient  of  sup- 
plies, our  means  of  transport  giving  out,  and,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  distance  and  excessive  bad  roads  between  us  and  our 
base  of  operations,  there  were  numerous  creeks  and  rivers 
which,  as  winter  approached,  would  be  swclL^^  and  become 
impassable.  We  had  no  chance  of  reinforcements,  and  our 
strength  was  likely  to  be  decreased  by  sickness.  McCulloch 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


211 


(as  I afterwards  learned)  did  not  care  to  trust  too  much  to 
information  received  from  the  country  people  regarding  the 
enemy’s  strength  or  movements. 

These  people  were  apt  to  be  deceived  or  to  exaggerate ; 
besides,  they  would  have  their  own  private  sentiments  in  favour 
of  the  South  or  the  North,  or  they  might  be  indifferent;  but, 
whatever  their  private  sentiments  might  be,  they  would  have 
to  shape  their  outward  policy  according  as  the  country  was 
occupied  by  a Northern  or  a Southern  army,  and  generally  he 
put  but  little  faith  in  outward  demonstrations. 

Price,  on  the  other  hand,  considered  that  the  mass  of  the 
population  was  in  his  favour  and  loyal  to  his  cause,  but  was 
kept  in  subjection  by  a Federal  army,  and  that  their  informa- 
tion might  be  relied  upon. 

About  the  third  day  after  we  camped  here  some  ladies  on 
horseback  visited  Price’s  camp.  I do  not  know  whether  they 
had  any  friends  in  it  or  not,  but  they  professed  great  zeal  in 
the  Southern  cause.  They  conversed  very  graciously  with  the 
men  as  they  rode  through  the  camp,  and  wished  them  every 
success.  They  expressed  a great  desire  to  see  the  Confederate 
troops,  and  were  shown  over  the  camp,  and  expressed  their 
admiration  at  everything  they  saw,  bowing  graciously  to  the 
men,  and  promising  to  pray  for  their  success. 

About  sunset  the  same  evening  an  order  was  quietly  sent 
round  precisely  the  same  as  the  one  at  Crane  Creek  for  the 
troops  to  be  prepared  to  march  at  nine  o’clock  to  make  an 
attack  on  the  enemy  at  Springfield,  the  only  difference  being 
that  the  troops  should  take  three  days’  cooked  rations  in  their 
haversacks. 

The  preparation  was  commenced  drawing  and  cooking  of 
rations,  not  for  three  days,  but  for  one  day,  that  being  as  much 
as  the  commissary  had  to  give.  Arms  and  ammunition  pouches 
were  examined  and  the  number  of  rounds  made  up  to  each 
man.  Each  company’s  solitary  tent  was  struck,  and  with  the 
cooking  utensils  packed  in  waggons  to  be  sent  as  might  be 
ordered.  Our  captain  had  been  detailed  to  coinmand  the 
skirmishers,  which  were  to  consist  of  our  company  and  two 
others,  and  we  were  to  advance  in  front. 

It  was  near  nine  o’clock,  the  sky  had  become  clouded,  and  a 
few  drops  of  rain  were  falling.  I was  just  going  to  form  the 
company,  when  the  major  came  along  to  say  that  the  march 
would  be  postponed  to  see  what  the  weather  would  do,  and  if 


212 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  rain  continued  we  were  to  pitch  tents  again  and  keep  the 
arms  dry.  The  reason  he  assigned  for  this  delay  was  that  a 
good  many  of  the  Missouri  troops  were  armed  with  flint-lock 
muskets,  and  a still  greater  number  of  them  had  no  cartouche- 
boxes,  and  they  would  be  of  little  service  if  it  rained,  and  it 
would  take  every  available  man  and  arm  that  we  had  for  what 
we  had  to  do.  ‘‘  And  you  see,  W.,’’  continued  he,  assuming 
the  old  citizen  style  of  talking,  ‘‘  it  would  never  do  for  us  to 
attempt  this  job  and  make  a botch  of  it.” 

The  rain  continued,  but  not  heavy ; tents  were  again  pitched, 
and,  though  the  rain  ceased  about  eleven  o’clock  and  the  night 
became  fine,  nothing  was  said  about  marching.  Another  post- 
ponement 1 The  suspense  was  becoming  unbearable.  The 
men  sought  the  driest  place  they  could  find  to  lie  down.  The 
weather  looked  better,  and  it  was  supposed  that  we  should 
march  forward  at  dawn  of  day. 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 


BATTLE  OF  OAK  HILL, 

On  the  first  appearance  of  dawn  some  of  the  boys  got  up  and 
ran  down  to  the  waggon  to  get  something  to  make  a little 
cofiee  to  drink  before  we  started  on  the  march. 

There  being  now  no  drum  beat  at  reveille  a bugle  was  sounded 
for  roll  call.  The  roll  was  called,  and  the  boys  were  trying  to 
get  some  cofiee  prepared,  when  mounted  men  were  seen 
hurrying  up  to  the  general’s  tent,  and  a young  lad  called  my 
attention,  saying,  “ There  is  something  up  ! ” 

The  general  was  out  partly  dressed  and  bare-headed,  eagerly 
listening.  I got  near  to  listen.  I saw  the  men  pointing  in 
difierent  directions,  and  heard  them  say  something  about 
“coming  round  through  the  prairie,”  “cavalry,”  and  “16 
pieces  of  artillery.”  The  general  gave  them  some  orders  and 
they  rode  ofi*.  He  then  returned  to  his  tent  and  immediately 
came  out  with  his  coat  and  hat  on,  and  seeing  us  looking  he 
cried  out,  “ Fall  in  there ! ” and  then  walked  over  towards 
Price’s  head-quarters.  I gave  the  order  to  “ Fall  in,”  and  the 
company  was  quickly  formed,  amidst  cries  of  “We  are 
going  to  have  it  now,  boys.” 

The  other  companies  were  as  quickly  formed,  and  the 
regiment  was  soon  in  line.  Two  of  the  other  companies  were 
joined  to  ours  to  be  ready  to  deploy  in  front  as  skirmishers ; 
and  we  were  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  right  of  Woodruff’s 
battery.  As  we  passed  the  battery  we  saw  it  had  got  into 
position,  and  the  artillerymen  bringing  water  from  the  creek  to 
fill  their  sponge-buckets  and  prepare  for  action. 

Here  we  were  halted  for  a few  minutes.  I looked  along 
the  company  and  saw  every  man  was  in  his  place.  We  stood 
upon  an  elevated  spot  and  had  a fine  view  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  field.  Price’s  army  waggons,  which  had  been  taken 
forward  for  the  march  on  the  previous  evening,  were  being 
driven  furiously  to  the  rear. 

The  enemy  had  possession  of  the  Oakhill,  where  they  were 
getting  their  artillery  into  position,  and  large  bodies  of  their 


214 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


troops  were  extending  out  on  their  left  wing,  seemingly  with 
the  view  of  turning  our  right  flank,  and  getting  in  rear  of 
Woodruff’s  battery.  The  order  of  the  battle,  notwithstanding 
the  hurried  way  it  was  begun,  was  upon  a regular  plan  and  well 
ordered  throughout. 

Upon  our  right  was  the  1st  Brigade,  consisting  of  the  3rd 
Louisiana  Regiment,  the  2nd  and  3rd  Arkansas  Regiments, 
with  Woodruff’s  battery  of  six  guns — under  command  of 
Colonel  MTntosh. 

Upon  our  left  was  the  1st  Arkansas  Regiment,  Churchhill’s 
Regiment,  and  a Texas  Regiment  (the  two  latter  were  mounted 
infantry  but  fought  on  foot),  and  Reid’s  battery  of  six  guns 
— commanded  by  General  MUulloch. 

In  the  centre  a little  advanced  was  Price’s  division  with 
one  battery  of  four  guns — under  General  Price. 

The  lines  of  the  battle  were  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a 
crescent,  the  enemy  being  on  the  outside  line  and  we  upon 
the  inside  line. 

Upon  the  enemy’s  right  was  Siegel’s  German  Brigade,  with 
one  battery  of  six  guns,  commanded  by  General  Siegel.  Upon 
their  left  was  Sturges’  Brigade  of  United  States  troops,  with, 
I think,  one  battery  of  three  or  four  guns,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Sturges.  In  the  centre  were  several  regiments  of  Iowa 
and  Missouri  Volunteers,  with  some  United  States  troops, 
and  one  battery  of  six  guns,  under  Colonel  Totten,  with  a 
detachment  of  United  States  Cavalry  which  acted  as  reserve, 
— the  whole  commanded  by  General  Lyon. 

As  we  stood  here  it  got  to  be  clear  daylight,  and  we  saw 
that  the  enemy  had  gained  a great  advantage  by  getting 
possession  of  the  Oakhill,  and  having  his  artillery  planted 
upon  it. 

We  had  not  long  to  ponder  over  it,  for  Colonel  MTntosh 
galloped  up,  and  putting  himself  at  our  head,  cried,  ‘‘This 
way,  boys.”  He  led  us  out  towards  the  front  of  our  right, 
against  the  enemy’s  left.  We  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  a 
shot  from  Totten’s  battery  on  the  Oakhill,  and  a shell  bursting 
over  our  heads,  announced  the  opening  of  the  ball.  This  was 
followed  by  others  thick  and  fast,  and  they  were  beginning  to 
come  unpleasantly  close.  We  were  soon  pleased  to  hear  Wood- 
ruff’s battery  returning  the  fire,  which  showed  the  enemy  they 
were  not  going  to  have  it  all  their  own  way.  This  drew  some 
of  the  fire  off  us.  We  now  got  on  to  a road  which  led  across 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


215 


some  level  land,  which  was  covered  with  a low  copse  or  brush- 
wood. The  skirmishers  were  now  ordered  to  deploy  in  front, 
and  fight  their  way  up  to  a rail  fence  which  formed  the 
boundary  between  the  copse  and  the  corn-fields  beyond,  where 
the  enemy  was  forming  their  line.  This  road  led  to  the  corn- 
fields, and  a large  part  of  the  rail  fence  had  been  taken  down 
to  allow  of  the  carting  away  of  the  corn  which  had  been 
already  gathered.  Colonel  MTntosh,  pointing  to  this  opening, 
which  might  be  about  60  feet  wide,  said,  ‘‘I  see  the  enemy’s 
cavalry  yonder  in  rear  of  their  infantry,  take  care  that  they 
don’t  pass  in  through  that  opening ; and  mind,  that  is  my  regi- 
ment that  is  in  front  on  your  left,  take  care  and  not  fire  into 
it.” 

The  copse  was  low  and  easily  got  through,  and  we  could  see 
the  enemy’s  line  advancing  in  beautiful  order,  with  skirmishers 
in  front. 

The  opposing  forces  approached  the  fence  about  the  same 
time.  As  we  got  to  within  20  yards  of  it  on  the  one  side, 
their  skirmishers  would  be  about  20  yards  from  it  on  the  other 
side,  the  main  lines  on  both  sides  being  about  30  yards  in  the  rear 
of  their  skirmishers. 

“ Who  are  you  ? What  force  is  that  ? ” cried  a voice  from 
our  side,  which  I think  was  our  colonel’s.  United  States 
troops,”  was  the  reply.  This  was  said  in  a tone  so  authorita- 
tive that  I confess  it  for  a moment  almost  staggered  me.  It 
seemed  to  say.  This  is  authority,  so  lay  down  your  arms  and  go 
home.  The  sudden  appearance  close  before  us  of  the  men  and 
officers  with  whom  we  had  always  been  so  friendly,  and  had 
respected  so  much,  and  with  whom  we  had  paraded  a year  ago 
at  the  Baton  Bouge  fair,  took  me  slightly  aback.  Others  may 
have  had,  and  did  have,  the  same  feeling,  but  it  was  quickly 
dispelled  by  the  words  which  followed,  which  were,  “Who  are 
you?  Volunteers?”  This  last  word  was  uttered  with  such 
scorn  and  bitterness,  and  followed  by  some  expressions  of  con- 
tempt for  volunteers,  that  I believe  it  roused  the  spirit  of 
every  man  in  our  ranks,  who  seemed  to  say,  “ I thank  thee, 
Roderick,  for  the  word.”  “Volunteers!”  cried  a United 
States  officer,  with  supreme  contempt,  “pitch  into  them, 
boys,  and  clear  them  out  of  your  way  I ” “Yes,  we  are 
volunteers,”  cried  several  voices  from  our  side,  “ and  we  will 
let  you  know  that  before  we  are  done  with  you ; ” and  the  fire 
opened  from  both  sides  about  the  same  moment,  and  our  first 


216 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


lieutenant,  with  whom  I was  talking  at  the  moment,  dropped 
at  my  feet,  with  the  blood  streaming  from  his  neck.  All 
hesitation  now  left  me,  and  I was  roused  to  the  work.  Our 
captain,  being  in  command  of  the  whole  line  of  skirmishers, 
was  of  course  absent  from  the  company.  Our  second  lieutenant, 
being  still  with  the  waggon  department,  was  busy  getting  the 
waggons  to  the  rear,  and  the  first  lieutenant  having  fallen, 
the  immediate  command  of  the  company  now  fell  upon  me. 
The  sergeant-major  came  up  to  me  to  deliver  some  order,  but  I 
could  not  hear  it  for  the  firing ; he  was  coming  closer  to  repeat 
it,  when  he  fell  shot  dead. 

The  order  had  been  for  the  skirmishers  to  fall  back  on  the 
main  body,  which  had  now  approached  to  within  15  yards  of 
them.  The  fire  from  our  rear  passing  so  close  over  our  heads 
soon  warned  us  to  fall  back  upon  the  main  line.  About  the 
same  time  and  in  the  same  way  the  enemy’s  skirmishers  fell 
back  on  their  main  line,  and  the  battle  now  began  in  true 
earnest.  Both  sides  were  piqued  and  determined.  It  was 
now  a fair  stand-up  fight,  and  the  question  was  who  would 
stand  it  longest.  The  fire  was  heavy  on  both  sides,  and  the 
bullets  rattled  like  a hailstorm. 

We  had  certainly  the  advantage  of  being  in  the  brushwood, 
for,  although  it  did  not  reach  higher  than  our  shoulders,  yet 
the  men  stooped  when  loading,  and  for  the  time  were  hid  from 
the  aim  of  the  enemy;  but  in  a short  time  the  smoke  got  so 
thick  that  sure  aim  could  not  be  taken  on  either  side.  The 
enemy  tried  to  work  round  on  our  right  flank,  but  was  there 
as  vigorously  met. 

The  fighting  was  desperate  for  about  half-an-hour,  when  a 
sort  of  a lull  took  place  as  if  by  mutual  consent,  to  draw 
breath  and  let  the  smoke  clear  away. 

When  the  smoke  cleared  away  a little  we  could  see  the 
enemy  plainly.  They  stood  as  firm  as  ever,  but  their  ranks 
were  much  thinned  and  their  dead  lay  thick.  The  voices  of 
their  officers,  who  had  been  crying,  “ Pitch  into  them,  boys  ! ” 
were  now  hushed.  Some  of  them  had  been  slightly  wounded 
in  the  head,  but  they  still  stood  in  their  places,  while  the 
blood  running  down  their  faces  gave  them  a ghastly  but  fierce 
and  determined  look.  They  were  evidently  riled  at  having 
met  with  such  determined  resistance. 

“ How  about  volunteers  now  ? ” cried  several  voices  from 
our  side. 


LIFE  m THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


217 


This  was  answered  vindictively  by  a volley,  and  the  battle 
commenced  again  with  renewed  vigour.  It  seemed  to  have 
become  a test  of  rivalry  between  regulars  and  volunteers ; both 
sides  were  thoroughly  roused,  and  the  combat  was  furious. 
The  enemy  were  better  armed  than  we  were.  They  were  of 
good  metal  and  well  disciplined,  and  maintained  their  phalanx 
by  closing  up  to  the  centre.  They  stood  upright,  and  pre- 
served their  line  well  formed.  This  was  fatal  to  them.  Our 
line  was  not  so  well  formed  or  the  men  so  well  disciplined,  but 
they  were  as  resolute  and  were  better  marksmen,  and  the 
fighting  being  at  close  quarters  the  difierence  of  arms  was  not 
much  felt.  We  had  had  the  advantage  of  the  brushwood,  but 
that  was  now  getting  too  much  trampled  down  to  afibrd  much 
shelter. 

The  enemy  had  evidently  sufiered  severely.  Their  ranks 
were  fearfully  thinned ; their  fire  was  beginning  to  slacken, 
and  they  were  unquestionably  getting  the  worst  of  it.  They 
were  mad  with  desperation,  and  began  to  cry,  Come  out  and 
meet  us  in  the  open  field.” 

‘‘  Charge  them  with  the  bayonet !”  cried  a voice  near  me. 

“ Give  them  the  steel,  boys  !”  resounded  along  the  line,  and 
with  a tremendous  cheer  we  rushed  out  upon  them.  They 
broke,  the  greater  part  retreating  towards  their  centre  on 
Oakhill ; but  some  still  stood  in  line,  seemingly  dumbfounded, 
and  were  pushed  down  and  run  over  by  our  men  as  they 
followed  the  retreating  body.  But  I don’t  think  a single 
man  of  them  was  bayoneted ; our  men  were  too  much  excited 
and  exhilarated  with  their  success  to  notice  them.  One  young 
officer  stood  holding  a small  flag  or  marker  on  their  line.  I 
ran  to  seize  the  flag  from  him.  He  with  his  sword  inflicted  a 
slight  wound  on  my  wrist.  I closed  with  him,  but  found  the 
poor  fellow  was  already  sorely  wounded,  and  he  fell  fainting 
on  the  ground,  still  holding  on  to  the  flag.  I left  him ; and, 
not  wishing  to  be  left  behind,  ran  up  and  joined  my  company, 
which  had  passed  on,  following  up  the  retreating  enemy.  We 
followed  them  up  towards  the  base  of  Oakhill,  but  we  were 
there  checked  by  a storm  of  shrapnel  and  grape,  which  was 
opened  upon  us  from  a battery  on  the  enemy’s  left.  Fortu- 
nately we  were  not  in  very  compact  order  at  the  time,  and  not 
much  damage  was  done. 

We  rallied  behind  a rising  ground  and  took  a breathing 
space.  Here  I looked  at  my  wounded  wrist  and  saw  it  was 


218 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


not  serious,  though  bleeding  profusely.  I tied  it  up  with  the 
piece  of  white  rag  which  we  had  tied  round  our  left  arms  to 
distinguish  us  from  the  enemy. 

Colonel  McIntosh  now  rode  up  and  told  us  that  we  had  made 
a good  beginning,  but  the  day  was  not  yet  won,  and  we  were 
ordered  to  form  line  as  quickly  as  possible. 

We  formed  line,  but  we  covered  much  less  ground  than  we 
had  done  in  the  early  morning ; our  ranks  had  got  a consider- 
able thinning.  On  looking  over  our  company  I found  about 
20  missing.  The  skirmishing  companies  now  took  their  regular 
places  in  the  regiment,  and  our  captain  joined  us.  I also 
became  aware  of  the  presence  of  J.  S. ; he  had  broken  away 
from  the  guard  and  had  got  a rifle  and  joined  in  the  fight. 

While  we  stood  here  a few  minutes  awaiting  orders  we  had 
a good  view  of  the  whole  field,  which  showed  that  the  battle 
was  still  far  from  being  decided.  Our  right  had  beaten  and 
driven  in  the  enemy’s  left  wing,  but  on  our  centre  and  left 
wing  the  battle^  was  raging  furiously.  The  sky  had  suddenly 
darkened  down,  which  showed  the  red  flashes  of  the  artillery 
through  the  smoke,  while  the  hissing  of  shells  and  the  con- 
tinued crackle  of  small  arms  made  the  scene  look  grand,  though 
not  altogether  pleasant. 

Suddenly  some  one  cried  out  that  there  was  cavalry  coming 
down  upon  us. 

“ Pooh  ! ” cried  Colonel  MTntosh,  “ who  the  devil  cares  for 
cavalry  ? Here,  you  rifles,  take  your  position  along  that  fence 
and  send  them  to  the  rightabout.”  This  was  addressed  to  our 
company,  and  we  ran  and  took  up  the  position.  We  saw  the 
cavalry  advancing  upon  us,  but  before  they  came  within  range 
of  our  rifles  a shower  of  grape  and  shrapnels  from  Woodruff’s 
battery  sent  them  to  the  rightabout. 

Just  at  this  moment  General  McCulloch  came  galloping  up, 
and,  addressing  the  regiment,  commended  them  for  their 
bravery,  and  pointing  to  a battery  on  the  enemy’s  right,  said 
it  must  be  stormed.  The  shattered  brigade  was  then  formed, 
and  Colonel  MTntosh  placed  himself  at  its  head  and  we  moved 
towards  the  centre.  My  position  was  on  the  right  as  usual, 
and  Colonel  MTntosh  rode  by  my  side. 

Colonel  MTntosh,  though  very  affable  and  pleasant  in  his 
manner,  had  nevertheless  something  so  commanding  in  his 
deportment  that  he  carried  men  with  him  in  spite  of  them- 
selves, and,  although  I would  just  as  soon  have  been  somewhere 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


219 


else  than  to  be  the  first  man  marching  up  to  that  battery,  yet 
I felt  that  I would  rather  die  three  times  over  than  display 
the  slightest  fear  under  the  eye  of  that  man. 

On  our  way  to  the  centre  we  crossed  the  creek.  In  the 
stream  were  several  dead  and  wounded  horses,  and  at  the  edge 
of  the  water  were  several  wounded  men  who  had  managed  to 
crawl  there.  The  sun  was  now  out  bright  and  hot,  and  the 
dust  and  smoke  were  stifling.  Our  men,  parched  with  thirst, 
drank  and  filled  their  canteens.  This  delayed  the  column  a 
little,  when  our  major  came  along  in  great  distress.  He  was 
on  foot,  walking  lame  and  bareheaded.  “ Ho  ! what  is  the 
matter,  major?”  He  was  in  a sad  plight.  His  horse  had 
been  shot  under  him.  It  had  fallen  upon  his  leg  and  hurt  his 
foot,  having  partly  rolled  over  on  him.  He  had  struggled  a 
long  time  before  he  could  extricate  himself.  His  clothes  were 
all  dirtied  and  torn,  and  he  had  lost  his  hat.  The  sun  was 
burning  his  head,  which  he  was  trying  to  protect  with  his 
hand.  “ Here  is  a hat  for  you,  major  ! ” cried  one  of  the  boys, 
picking  up  a wretched  old  torn  straw  hat  which  had  been  lost 
by  some  of  the  waggon-drivers  in  the  morning  while  hurrying 
back  with  their  waggons  to  the  rear.  The  major,  seeming  to 
think  that  at  that  time  at  least  the  nature  of  the  hat  was  of 
less  importance  than  the  preservation  of  the  head  that  was  in 
it,  said  it  would  be  better  than  nothing,  and  put  it  on  amid 
the  laughter  of  the  whole  regiment. 

As  we  got  to  the  centre  we  found  that  a large  number  of 
Price’s  troops  were  falling  back  down  the  hill  in  confusion. 
Colonel  MTntosh  was  immediately  amongst  them.  ‘‘  Back, 
back,  men,  and  stand  to  your  colours.  Why,  here  is  a brigade 
that  has  already  thrashed  the  enemy’s  regulars  and  cut  them 
to  pieces,  and  they  are  now  come  to  help  you.”  The  men 
immediately  rallied  round  him,  and  he  led  them  back  up  the 
hill. 

General  McCulloch  then  rode  up,  and  saying  something  to 
Colonel  MTntosh,  the  latter  turned  the  2nd  and  3rd  Arkansas 
regiments  up  the  hill  to  the  support  of  Price,  while  McCulloch 
himself  led  our  regiment  towards  the  left  and  against  the 
battery  on  the  enemy’s  right. 

As  we  moved  onwards  we  passed  Price’s  battery,  which  was 
silenced.  The  place  here  showed  signs  of  rough  work ; the 
ground  was  much  ploughed  up  by  cannon  shot,  and  the  dead 
and  wounded  lay  thick.  The  place  was  enveloped  in  smoko 


220 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


from  the  burning  grass  and  debris,  and  the  burning  wadding 
which  was  falling  on  us,  as  the  cannon  shots  passed  over  our 
heads  from  the  battery  we  were  going  to  storm.  This  was 
all  the  better  for  us,  as  it  hid  our  approach  from  the  enemy 
and  enabled  us  to  come  upon  them  and  take  them  unawares. 
‘‘Keep  down  and  trail  arms,”  said  M‘Culloch,  and  we  kept 
down  along  the  bank  of  the  creek.  The  battery  was  situated 
on  a piece  of  high  tableland  overlooking  and  commanding  a 
large  part  of  the  field,  with  a steep  bank  in  front.  The  road 
led  along  the  bottom  of  this  bank,  which  was  covered  with 
trees  and  brushwood.  Up  and  along  the  bank  we  went 
cautiously,  under  cover  of  the  smoke  and  keeping  below  the 
range  of  fire,  the  general  leading  the  way.  We  got  so  close 
that  we  could  see  the  muzzles  of  the  guns  and  a body  of 
infantry  in  a hollow  place  to  the  left  of  the  battery. 

“ What  force  is  this  ? ” cried  General  M‘Culloch. 

“ Siegel’s  brigade,”  was  the  answer. 

“All  right,”  said  M‘Culloch.  “Kow,  boys,  give  it  to  them.” 

A deadly  fire  was  poured  upon  the  infantry  and  the  guns 
simultaneously,  and  our  men  rushed  forward  and  drove  the 
artillerymen  from  the  guns.  They  were  taken  completely  by 
surprise  and  broke  in  confusion.  Some  of  the  artillerymen  did 
succeed  in  limbering  up,  but  horses  and  men  were  shot  down 
before  they  could  get  away.  The  infantry  tried  to  rally  and 
retake  the  guns,  but  were  driven  back  by  our  fire,  and  they 
retreated  away  through  some  corn-fields. 

We  were  now,  almost  to  our  own  surprise,  left  in  possession 
of  the  guns,  and  we  could  hardly  believe  that  we  had  captured 
a battery  which  had  been  doing  such  damage  throughout  the 
morning. 

On  looking  round,  one  of  the  first  men  that  I saw  at  the 
guns  was  Colonel  M‘Intosh.  That  man  seemed  to  be  every- 
where. After  getting  the  two  Arkansas  regiments  set  to  work 
in  the  centre,  he  had  galloped  over  to  join  in  the  attack  on 
the  battery.  But  we  had  quickly  to  stand  back  from  the  guns. 
A shot  from  one  of  our  own  batteries  killed  two  of  our  own 
men  (one  of  them  a captain),  knocking  a spoke  out  of  a wheel, 
and  making  a deep  dent  in  one  of  the  guns.  Reid’s  battery  on 
our  left  was  still  playing  on  this  battery,  and  did  not  know 
that  it  had  been  taken.  Orders  were  immediately  sent  to  cease 
firing  upon  it. 

In  the  meantime  where  was  the  enemy  ? It  was  known  that 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


221 


Siegel  was  not  the  man  to  be  so  easily  defeated,  and  he  would 
likely  make  an  effort  to  retake  the  guns.  We  soon  after  saw 
a body  of  infantry  coming  up  in  the  rear  of  the  battery,  and 
we  prepared  to  receive  them,  but  they  made  but  a poor  stand. 
They  rather  seemed  amazed  and  stupified,  and  after  a few  shots 
they  retreated. 

It  seemed  that  this  was  a regiment  of  infantry  which  had 
been  placed  to  support  the  battery,  and  in  the  confusion  into 
which  they  had  been  thrown  by  our  sudden  attack,  they  had 
retreated  the  wrong  way,  and  were  now  trying  to  make  their 
way  back  to  join  their  own  main  body.  As  we  had  advanced 
some  distance  past  the  guns,  they  probably  mistook  us  for  a 
part  of  their  own  brigade  from  which  they  were  now  cut  off. 

As  soon  as  the  battery  had  been  captured,  and  the  infantry 
supporting  it  driven  back  and  held  in  check  by  our  regiment, 
our  second  brigade,  consisting  of  the  1st  Arkansas  regiment, 
Churchhilhs  regiment,  and  the  Texas  regiment,  which  had 
suffered  severely  in  the  morning,  made  a fresh  attack  on  the 
main  body  of  Siegel’s  brigade,  which  they  drove  back  and  cut 
off  from  Lyon’s  centre.  Meanwhile  we  were  deployed  along 
the  edge  of  the  wood  which  lined  the  approach  to  the  battery, 
to  check  any  advance  that  might  be  made  to  retake  the  guns. 

Here  a little  incident  happened,  which  shows  how  easily  a 
mistake  might  occur.  We  were  formed  in  line  about  10  yards 
from,  and  parallel  with  the  road,  but  could  not  be  seen  from 
it  on  account  of  the  brushwood,  and  we  were  expecting  an 
advance  of  the  enemy  along  this  road.  In  a short  time,  being 
on  the  right,  I saw  above  the  brushwood  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  a man  on  horseback  advancing  along  the  road, 
which  from  the  cap  and  uniform  I saw,  bore  the  rank  of 
captain  in  the  Federal  army.  Supposing  him  to  be  the 
leader  of  the  attacking  party,  an  impetuous  corporal  by  my 
side  raised  his  rifle  to. take  him  down.  I ordered  him  not  to 
fire  yet,  but  wait  a little.  In  the  meantime  the  officer  rode 
past  a tree  which  intervened  and  the  corporal  was  rating  me 
for  having  made  him  lose  his  shot,  when  the  officer  stopped, 
and  I heard  some  one  talking  with  him,  and  recognised  the 
voice  of  our  lieutenant-colonel. 

I immediately  went  out  to  the  road,  and  saw  the  officer  and 
our  lieutenant-colonel  in  conversation.  I explained  to  our 
lieutenant-colonel  the  danger  the  officer  was  in.  The  officer 
acknowledged  his  rashness  and  dismounted,  and  a flag  of  truce 


222 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


was  displayed  by  way  of  attaching  a white  handkerchief  to  a 
bayonet  which  was  held  up.  He  was  the  chief  medical  officer 
of  the  Federal  army,  and  wished  to  negotiate  for  the  treatment 
of  the  wounded. 

General  McCulloch,  who  after  the  battery  was  captured  had 
galloped  to  another  part  of  the  field,  fortunately  at  this 
moment  returned.  He  readily  agreed  to  let  the  enemy  take 
their  wounded  off  the  field,  on  the  strict  conditions  that  they 
should  take  nothing  else,  such  as  arms,  etc.,  until  the  result  of 
the  battle  was  known,  and  that  every  ambulance  party  should 
bear  with  them  conspicuously  a hospital  flag,  and  orders  were 
sent  along  not  to  fire  upon  any  party  bearing  a yellow  flag. 

We  were  now  ordered  to  secure  the  guns  and  such  of  the 
horses  as  had  been  left  unwounded,  scour  the  fields  and  bushes 
in  the  neighbourhood  for  hidden  parties  of  enemy,  and  prepare 
for  action  in  another  part  of  the  field. 

Immediately  in  the  rear  of  the  battery  was  a pretty  sub- 
stantial farm-house  with  extensive  barns  and  out-houses.  All 
the  buildings  were  completely  riddled  by  the  shot.  I was 
sent  with  a small  party  to  search  all  the  houses,  in  case  some 
of  the  enemy  had  taken  refuge  or  hidden  themselves  there. 
We  found  several  of  the  enemy  in  a hay  loft  who  surrendered 
as  prisoners.  I forced  the  back-door  of  the  dwelling-house 
which  was  locked  and  entered  the  kitchen.  Several  cannon 
shots  had  passed  through  it,  and  the  floor  was  strewn  with 
dust  and  broken  crockery.  I examined  the  other  rooms  but 
found  nobody.  I was  about  to  retire  when  one  of  the  boys 
called  to  me  that  here  was  a stair  down  to  a cellar  and  we 
might  catch  some  one  down  there, 

I went  down,  and  caught  a tartar.  A woman  jumped  up 
and  confronted  me. 

“ What  do  you  want  here  ? Get  out  of  this,’’  she  cried,  as 
she  launched  out  into  a tirade  of  abuse  about  how  their  house 
and  property  had  been  destroyed  and  themselves  almost  killed. 

I desired  her  to  compose  herself,  as  I was  only  looking  to  see 
if  any  of  the  enemy  had  taken  refuge  there.  Looking  round 
the  place,  I saw  a younger  woman,  a man,  and  some  children, 
who  were  crouched  in  a corner  behind  some  barrels  and  a large 
pile  of  apples. 

“ Is  that  your  husband  ? ” said  I. 

‘‘Yes,  he  is  my  husband,  and  them  is  my  children.” 

“ Oh,  very  well,  we  will  not  molest  you  further,”  said  I, 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


223 


calling  out  to  the  boys,  who  were  helping  themselves  to  the 
apples,  to  desist,  and  we  turned  to  go  upstairs. 

“Oh,  take  the  apples,’’ said  she,  “take  a plenty  of  them; 
take  them  all  if  you  like.  Are  you  Lincoln’s  folk  or  Jeff. 
Davis’  folk  ? 

“Jeff.  Davis’  folk,”  said  I. 

She  then  asked  if  the  fuss  was  over.  I said  I did  not  know, 
but  that  I thought  it  would  be  over  at  this  part  of  the  field, 
as  we  had  taken  the  enemy’s  guns  that  had  been  in  the  front 
of  her  house. 

“Then  burn  the  pesky  things,”  said  she.  “My  head  is 
split  in  pieces,  and  the  children  has  got  fits,  and  my  old  man 
has  got  quite  deaf  with  the  big  noise  of  them.” 

I felt  like  saying  that,  considering  her  gift  of  speech,  a worse 
thing  might  have  happened  to  the  old  man.  But  the  old  man, 
having  regained  his  hearing  and  a little  assurance,  asked  me 
as  we  were  ascending  the  stair  if  it  would  be  safe  for  them 
now  to  come  up,  as  they  had  been  down  there  ever  since  the 
fuss  began.  I said  it  would,  but  if  they  heard  firing  to  go 
down  again.  They  were  quite  safe  in  the  cellar  from  any  kind  of 
shot,  but  that  a shell,  if  exploding  in  it,  might  have  set  the  house 
on  fire.  The  old  woman  was  up  first,  but  on  seeing  the  wreck, 
and  looking  out  and  seeing  the  dead  men  and  horses  lying  in 
front  of  the  house,  she  broke  out  in  a greater  fury  than  ever. 
Who  was  going  to  pay  for  all  this  ? Who  was  going  to  take 
away  them  dead  folks  and  dead  horses  ? Was  she  to  have  them 
lying  stinking  round  her  house?  so  that  I was  glad  to  get 
away  and  join  the  regiment,  which  was  now  forming  to  proceed 
to  another  part  of  the  field. 

General  McCulloch  now  addressed  the  regiment  and  said, 
“You  have  beaten  the  enemy’s  right  and  left  wings,  only  their 
centre  is  left,  and  with  all  our  forces  concentrated  upon  that, 
we  will  soon  make  short  work  of  it.” 

Our  route  was  now  by  a detour,  and  then  to  ascend  Oakhill 
and  attack  the  enemy  in  their  rear.  We  were  led  by  our 
colonel ; the  detour  was  long,  and  we  were  to  move  as  quickly 
as  possible.  The  sun  was  now  intensely  hot,  and  the  men 
were  considerably  fatigued,  but  they  pressed  on.  The  heavy 
firing  at  the  centre  continued,  showing  that  there  was  heavy 
fighting  going  on.  We  got  to  the  base  of  the  hill  in  their  rear 
and  began  to  ascend.  The  enemy  discovered  us,  and  opened 
fire  at  a considerable  distance.  We  were  pressing  up  the  hill 


224 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


to  get  to  closer  quarters,  when  a ball  took  me  in  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  and  for  a few  minutes  I remembered  no  more. 

When  I recovered  consciousness,  I was  lying  on  my  back, 
with  the  sun  pouring  into  my  eyes.  I had  fallen  with  my  head 
down  the  hill,  my  left  hand,  which  was  the  wounded  one,  was 
under  my  back.  I must  have  thrown  it  back  to  stop  me  from 
falling.  I felt  the  wounded  hand  sore,  but  no  other  pain.  In 
trying  to  move  my  wounded  hand,  I felt  something  trickle 
upon  it.  I concluded  the  ball  had  passed  through  my  body 
and  had  come  out  at  my  back,  and  that  the  blood  was  trickling 
from  the  wound,  and  that,  therefore,  it  was  all  up  with  me. 
What  my  thoughts  were  I need  not  say,  but  I felt  no  faintness 
nor  pain,  except  from  my  wounded  wrist.  This  I gently  with- 
drew from  under  me,  and  bringing  it  before  me,  saw  the 
wound  was  bleeding  a little,  but  what  had  trickled  over  my 
hand  was  water.  A sudden  flash  of  hope  sprung  up,  and  I 
ventured  to  shake  myself  and  felt  nothing  wrong,  and  I 
sprang  to  my  feet.  My  belt  and  sabre  fell  away  from  me  as  I 
rose,  but  I could  not  realise  that  no  ball  had  pierced  me,  and 
I examined  closely,  shook  myself,  and  drew  long  breaths  to  be 
sure  that  I was  all  right.  I was  burning  with  thirst,  and 
applied  to  my  canteen,  but  found  it  was  nearly  empty,  and 
I observed  a hole  in  it,  showing  that  the  ball  had  passed 
through  it.  The  cloth  covering  having  got  worn  ofi*  the  canteen, 
the  water  had  got  warm  with  the  sun,  and  it  had  been  that 
which  trickled  on  my  hand.  Glad  to  find  I was  still  all  right, 
I proceeded  to  buckle  on  my  belt,  but  found  the  clasp  broken, 
and  the  large  brass  plate  in  front,  on  which  was  emblazoned 
the  Louisiana  State  emblem  of  the  ‘‘Pelican,’’  dented  and 
marked  with  a ball.  It  was  now  evident  that  the  ball  had 
come  in  a slightly  slanting  direction,  struck  the  brass  plate, 
and  glanced  oflP,  passing  through  my  canteen,  while  the  thud 
on  the  stomach  had  knocked  the  breath  from  me,  and  paralysed 
me  for  a time.  I fastened  my  belt  with  a string  and  started 
to  follow  up  the  regiment. 

The  cannonade  had  now  ceased,  and  there  was  only  a slight 
firing  of  small  arms.  When  I got  up  to  the  regiment  I found 
them  sitting  down,  the  battle  supposed  to  be  over,  and  the 
enemy  in  full  retreat. 

We  were  ordered  to  remain  here  until  Churchhill’s  regiment 
and  the  Texas  rangers  should  pass  on  to  harass  the  enemy’s 
retreat  and  capture  some  more  of  their  guns,  if  possible. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


225 


It  was  now  about  two  o^clock,  and  the  men  were  pretty 
tired.  A party  was  sent  to  fill  the  canteens  at  the  creek,  and 
another  party  was  sent  off  to  attend  to  the  wounded. 

We  soon  afterwards  received  orders  to  go  back  to  camp; 
the  battle  was  over,  and  we  had  gained  the  victory.  This 
announcement  was  received  with  loud  cheers,  and  we  started 
back  to  camp  highly  pleased  with  the  day’s  work,  everyone,  of 
course,  recounting  the  deeds  they  had  done — some  of  the  boys 
having  slain  half-a-dozen  generals  or  put  a squadron  of  horse 
to  flight. 

When  we  got  to  our  camp  we  found  the  ground  torn  up  in 
some  places  with  shot,  and  strewn  with  fragments  of  shells, 
but  not  much  damage  done.  (The  enemy,  in  their  report  of 
the  battle,  said  they  had  destroyed  the  camp.)  But  there  was 
but  little  to  damage ; one  or  two  tents  had  been  burned  by 
the  shells,  and  one  or  two  waggons  damaged,  but  the  horses 
and  mules  and  the  greater  part  of  the  waggons  had  been  got 
behind  a hill,  out  of  range  of  the  shot.  In  our  bivouac  the 
coffee  was  standing  over  the  cold  fires,  just  as  we  had  left  it  in 
the  morning  (it  seemed  an  age  since  that  time).  We  were 
ordered  to  stack  arms,  get  something  to  eat,  and  then  a 
party  to  be  sent  to  relieve  the  one  that  was  attending  to  the 
wounded,  and  have  all  the  wounded  brought  in  and  cared  for, 
(the  enemy  being  allowed  to  attend  to  their  own  wounded), 
and  all  our  own  dead  to  be  noted  and  buried,  there  being  no 
chance  of  the  enemy  annoying  us  any  more  at  present.  We 
were  very  hungry  and  tired,  and  soon  made  a hearty  breakfast 
and  dinner  all  in  one.  Having  called  the  roll  and  made  the 
details  from  my  company,  I went  to  the  scene  of  the  battle  of 
the  morning  to  look  out  for  the  missing.  After  diligent  search 
I accounted  for  them  all,  and  was  glad  to  find  that  there  was 
not  one  killed  outright,  but  19  wounded — some  of  whom  after- 
wards died  of  their  wounds. 

Stretchers  were  procured  or  made  out  of  blankets,  and  the 
wounded  were  carried  to  camp  and  put  under  the  best  cover 
we  could  provide ; and  the  quarter-master,  having  procured 
spades  and  mattocks,  the  burying  of  the  dead  was  proceeded 
with — our  own  dead  first. 

The  enemy,  having  some  ambulance  parties  in  the  field 
picking  up  their  wounded,  and  conversation  between  the 
parties  not  being  forbidden,  our  men  were  so  happy  over 
their  victory  that  they  were  in  the  best  of  humour,  and 

p 


226 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


cheerfully  assisted  the  enemy’s  parties  in  taking  up  their 
wounded. 

I remembered  the  young  officer  whom  I had  encountered  in 
the  morning,  and  took  them  to  the  place  I left  him,  but  found 
he  was  not  there.  I could  not  be  mistaken  in  the  place,  for 
the  row  of  dead  showed  where  their  line  had  been  formed,  and 
I found  some  shreds  of  the  flag,  which  he  seemed  to  have  cut 
or  torn  up  to  prevent  it  falling  into  our  hands.  I picked  up 
the  shreds,  intending  to  say  nothing  about  the  flag,  as  I feared 
I might  be  censured  for  not  having  taken  it  from  him.  I 
afterwards  found  him  in  the  barn  of  a deserted  farm-house 
near  by,  where  he  with  some  others  had  managed  to  crawl.  I 
hailed  one  of  their  ambulances,  and  got  him  put  into  it.  He 
was  shot  in  the  groin,  and  it  was  just  possible  that  he  might 
recover.  He  was  very  faint,  and  did  not  seem  to  recognise 
me.  I showed  him  my  wounded  wrist  and  some  pieces  of  the 
flag ; he  then  recognised  me  and  called  me  back,  grasped  my 
hand,  and  thanked  me. 

Having  examined  the  wounded  of  my  company,  and  the 
nature  of  their  wounds,  I hurried  back  to  camp  to  make  out 
my  report.  Having  no  paper  or  form,  I tore  a leaf  out  of  my 
roll-book,  and,  heading  it  with  the  name  of  the  company  and 
date,  wrote  under — “Killed,  none;  wounded,  19;  missing, 
none.”  This  I got  signed  by  the  captain,  and  took  to  the 
colonel’s  tent. 

In  the  tent  was  the  commissary,  and  the  colonel  was  just  in 
the  act  of  squeezing  the  last  drop  of  claret  out  of  a demijohn 
which  the  commissary  seemed  to  have  brought.  I cast  a 
longing  eye  on  the  tin  cup,  which  was  nearly  full  of  claret,  and 
an  imploring  look  on  the  colonel,  as  much  as  to  say  that  I was 
awaiting  orders ; but  the  colonel  did  not  see  it  in  that  light, 
for  he  drank  it  ofi*  with  seeming  great  satisfaction,  and  had  not 
a drop  to  spare.  He  then  looked  at  me  and  said  : “ Well, 
have  you  brought  your  report?”  I said  I had  no  form  or 
paper  to  make  it  out  properly,  but  there  was  the  substance  of 
it,  and  I handed  the  scrap  of  paper  to  him.  He  said  that 
would  not  do ; I must  give  the  men’s  names  and  the  nature  of 
their  wounds.  I said  I could  do  so  if  he  would  give  me  paper. 
He  then  gave  me  a sheet  of  paper  and  directed  me  to  sit  down, 
and  he  showed  me  how  to  make  out  the  return.  There  were 
four  dangerously,  nine  severely,  and  six  slightly.  He  asked 
what  I meant  by  slightly.  I said  I meant  not  dangerously  or 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


227 


severely,  but  still  rendered  unfit  for  duty  for  a time.  ‘‘  I don’t 
mean,”  continued  I,  “ such  scratches  as  that,”  showing  him  my 
wounded  wrist ; ‘‘we  have  several  such  as  that,  but  these  I have 
not  counted.”  He  said  that  was  right ; “ but,”  said  he,  “ that 
is  a sabre  wound;  how  did  you  get  that?”  I told  him  of  the 
afiair,  and  as  I saw  that  the  wine  had  put  him  in  good  humour 
I thought  I might  as  well  ease  my  mind  and  make  a clean 
breast  of  it  about  the  fiag,  and  showed  him  some  of  the  shreds. 
He  said  I should  by  all  means  have  taken  the  flag  from  him, 
as  it  would  have  been  an  honour  to  me  and  to  the  regiment. 
I said  I could  not  think  to  struggle  with  a man  whom  I had 
come  upon  wounded  and  helpless ; besides,  my  company  had 
gone  on  following  up  the  enemy,  and  I was  in  command  of  it 
at  the  time.  He  allowed  there  was  something  in  that,  but  said 
that  I must  never  in  future  lose  an  opportunity  of  capturing  a 
flag.  He  said  he  was  well  pleased  with  me  for  the  day,  and, 
looking  towards  the  commissary,  asked  if  he  had  anything  left. 
The  commissary  said  he  had  not  a drop  left,  and  I judged  from 
his  appearance  that  what  he  said  might  be  true.  The  colonel 
turned  to  me  and  said  he  was  sorry  that  he  could  not  ask  me  to 
drink,  but  I was  just  to  consider  that  I had  got  a drink  from 
him  ; the  honour  would  be  all  the  same.  I came  away,  thinking 
that  it  was  rather  a dry  honour. 

As  I came  out  I saw  a party  of  the  enemy  bearing  a flag  of 
truce.  They  had  come  to  ask  for  the  body  of  General  Lyon, 
who  had  been  killed  in  the  engagement.  The  request  was 
granted,  and  General  M‘Culloch  sent  his  own  spring  waggon, 
furnished  with  a guard,  to  take  the  body  as  far  as  Springfield. 

The  surgeons  were  now  busy  operating  upon  the  wounded. 
The  orderly  sergeant  of  the  company  next  to  ours  had  been  in 
civil  life  a medical  man  in  full  practice.  He  now  came  forward 
and  ofiered  his  services,  which  were  accepted.  He  was  after- 
wards appointed  surgeon,  and  an  excellent  surgeon  he  was. 
He  was  known  as  Hr.  C.  If  Hr.  C.  is  still  in  life,  and  this 
should  meet  his  eye,  he  will  remember  his  old  friend  the  sergeant 
of  the  rifles.  The  doctors  worked  late  that  night.  I watched 
some  of  the  operations ; they  were  very  painful.  But  what 
struck  me  as  most  incredible  was  the  strange  courses  taken  by 
the  bullets,  particularly  by  the  pointed  conical  bullets. 

The  surgeon  was  cutting  a ball  out  of  the  back  of  a man’s 
head,  which  had  entered  near  the  eye.  I saw  that  man 
marching  with  his  company  a few  days  afterwards.  It  was 


228 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


certainly  imprudent  of  him  to  do  so,  but  still  he  recovered 
quickly.  The  ball  had  passed  round  the  skull  under  the  skin, 
and  was  cut  out  at  the  back  of  the  head  without  injuring  the 
bone.  Some  were  wounded  in  the  front  of  the  leg,  the  ball 
going  round  the  bone  and  passing  out  at  the  calf.  Some,  to 
their  great  annoyance,  had  got  wounds  in  the  back  by  bullets 
striking  against  trees  and  glancing  backwards.  Our  first 
lieutenant,  who  had  dropped  while  talking  with  me,  had  a 
most  miraculous  escape.  The  ball  had  struck  him  on  the  one 
side  of  the  neck,,  taking  a curve  round  his  throat  and  passing 
out  at  the  other  side,  laying  bare  the  windpipe,  but  not  cutting 
it.  The  boys  teased  him,  saying  the  scar  would  look  more  like 
as  if  he  had  attempted  suicide  by  trying  to  cut  his  throat,  than 
that  of  a wound  received  in  battle. 

About  eight  o’clock  Colonel  MTntosh,  who  had  been  away 
following  up  the  enemy,  came  riding  in,  and  going  up  to  where 
the  surgeons  were,  he  dismounted,  and  throwing  ofi*  his  coat, 
said  he  did  not  want  to  take  up  much  of  their  time,  but  he 

had  been  hit  on  the  shoulder  by  one  of  their  d d canister 

shots,  and  they  might  see  what  it  was  like.  They  examined 
the  place,  but  found  the  skin  was  not  broken.  The  shot  had 
struck  and  glanced  off,  leaving  a large  blue  lump.  He  said  it 
was  painful,  but  laughed  at  it,  and  went  through  and  visited 
the  wounded. 

Guards  had  now  been  put  out  for  the  night  and  men  detailed 
to  attend  the  wounded.  I found  an  empty  waggon  near  our 
bivouac,  which  had  been  damaged  by  a shell,  and  in  this  I lay 
down  for  the  night. 

Whether  there  was  anything  in  the  air  (which  was  strongly 
impregnated  with  the  smell  of  powder,  as  there  was  not  a 
breath  of  wind)  I do  not  know,  but  I think  I enjoyed  the 
sweetest  night’s  rest  I ever  enjoyed  in  my  life. 

I awoke  about  dawn  greatly  refreshed.  The  morning  was 
beautiful ; there  was  not  a breath  of  air,  and  there  was  still  a 
strong  smell  of  saltpetre.  At  daylight  everything  was  quiet. 
What  a contrast  to  the  previous  morning  ! and  I remembered 
that  many  of  my  poor  comrades  would  not  have  passed  such  a 
pleasant  night.  I got  up  and  went  to  see  how  they  had  passed 
the  night.  Some  of  them  had  had  a bad  night  and  were  in 
great  pain. 

The  bugle  sounded  for  roll  call,  and  large  details  were  made 
to  go  and  bury  the  remaining  dead.  Provision  was  made  for 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


229 


having  the  wounded  forwarded  to  Springfield,  it  being  now 
known  that  the  enemy  had  evacuated  that  town  and  retreated 
northwards. 

Arms  were  now  cleaned,  and  ammunition  pouches  inspected 
and  fresh  ammunition  served  out.  All  serviceable  arms  lying 
on  the  field  were  gathered  up,  and  the  captured  guns  were 
brought  into  camp. 

The  process  of  burying  the  dead  was  toilsome  and  got  on 
slowly.  In  many  places  where  the  dead  lay  thick  the  ground 
was  hard  and  rocky,  and  the  bodies  had  to  be  dragged  some 
distance  to  where  pits  could  be  dug.  By  the  early  part  of  the 
forenoon  the  sun  got  intensely  hot,  and  some  of  the  bodies 
began  to  show  signs  of  decomposition,  and  the  flies  became 
intolerable,  and  the  men  could  stand  it  no  longer. 

About  midday  we  received  orders  to  march.  The  general, 
I understood,  had  made  arrangements  with  the  country  people 
to  bury  the  remainder  of  the  dead. 

As  we  went  out  of  camp  we  passed  near  the  place  where 
Woodruff’s  battery  had  opened  upon  the  enemy’s  cavalry. 
Some  dead  horses  lay  there.  The  flies  were  in  myriads,  and 
the  smell  was  already  unbearable. 

We  marched  northward  for  about  five  miles  and  encamped 
at  a place  about  four  miles  from  Springfield.  Here  a general 
detail  of  the  battle  was  gone  into  and  our  losses  estimated. 

Our  regiment  had  47  killed  and  about  180  wounded.  Our 
company  seemed  fortunate  in  having  only  1 9 casualties ; but 
then  it  was  small  in  numbers,  being  about  80,  while  the  other 
companies  were  over  100.  It  would  seem  at  first  the  number 
of  wounded  was  proportionately  large  to  the  number  killed, 
but  this  is  easily  understood  when  the  number  that  were 
merely  grazed  is  looked  at,  the  number  hit  with  skin  grazed 
or  clothes  cut  being  greater  than  the  killed  and  wounded  put 
together,  showing  how  often  a man  may  be  hit  before  the 
bullet  reaches  a vital  part.  What  was  more  astonishing  still 
was  the  comparatively  small  number  of  casualties  sustained 
considering  the  heavy  fire  the  troops  had  been  under. 

The  total  loss  on  our  side  was  about  700  killed  and  about 
1700  wounded.  The  enemy’s  loss  was  calculated  to  be  about 
1400  killed,  about  2400  wounded,  and  about  200  prisoners. 
Of  the  wounded  on  both  sides,  about  one-fourth  would  probably 
die  of  their  wounds,  and  another  fourth  would  never  again  be 
fit  for  service. 


230 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Of  the  total  number  of  men  engaged,  there  were  upon  our 
side  between  14,000  and  15,000.  The  enemy,  as  usual,  made 
many  absurd  and  ridiculous  statements  about  the  smallness  of 
their  numbers ; but,  making  every  allowance,  they  could  not 
have  had  much  less  than  14,000  men. 

It  was  easy  for  us  to  form  an  idea  of  the  strength  of  the 
enemy  from  the  positions  they  occupied  and  their  plan  of 
attack,  and  General  Lyon  was  too  able  a general  to  leave  an 
advantageous  position  and  attack  us  with  an  inferior  force 
when  he  was  provided  in  every  way  and  could  afford  to  lie 
and  act  on  the  defensive. 

The  battle,  though  on  a small  scale,  was  considered  a good 
battle.  It  was  well  fought  throughout,  skilfully  managed  and 
stubbornly  contested  on  both  sides,  and  lasted  eight  hours. 
That  it  resulted  as  it  did  may  be  ascribed  to  various  causes,  of 
which  fortune  no  doubt  formed  part.  The  Federal  commander 
showed  no  lack  of  skill,  or  his  troops  of  bravery.  Nothing 
could  excel  the  bravery  of  the  United  States  regular  troops, 
who  fought  on  their  left  wing.  What  told  most  against  them 
was  their  strict  adherence  to  military  rigidity  and  form  of 
discipline,  by  standing  up  close  and  maintaining  their  line  in 
the  open  held,  making  themselves  conspicuous  marks  for  the 
hre  of  their  opponents,  who  fought  in  open  ranks  and  kneeled 
down,  forming  a less  prominent  mark. 

But  the  great  advantage  in  favour  of  the  Confederate  troops 
was  their  practical  skill  as  marksmen.  Accustomed,  as  many  of 
them  were  from  their  boyhood  to  shooting  with  ball  while 
hunting  bears,  deer,  wild  turkeys,  and  other  game  in  the 
woods  or  on  the  prairies,  their  certainty  of  aim  was  acquired 
by  instinct. 

The  enemy  had  slightly  the  advantage  of  position.  How 
they  came  to  get  this  position  and  the  unexpectedness  of  their 
attack  has  been  a subject  of  conjecture  and  some  criticism. 

It  was  certainly  never  expected  by  MUulloch  that  the 
enemy  would  advance  from  Springfield,  where  they  were 
entrenching  themselves  after  their  retreat  from  Crane  Creek. 
He  never  expected  to  fight  at  Wilson’s  Creek.  He  had  not 
taken  that  position  as  an  advantageous  one  for  defence,  but 
simply  to  concentrate  his  forces  for  an  attack  on  Springfield. 
On  the  night  of  the  9th  of  August  he  had  formed  the  line  of 
march,  but  did  not  advance,  owing  to  the  rain. 

How  the  enemy  got  to  know  our  exact  location,  and  how  he 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


231 


got  forward  during  the  night  and  had  his  artillery  planted  in 
such  a commanding  position  as  Oakhill  on  our  front  and  the 
high  table-land  on  our  left,  was  somewhat  of  a mystery,  and 
showed  that  he  must  have  known  exactly  our  movements  on 
the  previous  day,  though  he  could  not  have  been  aware  of  our 
intention  to  advance  and  attack  him  on  the  same  night,  as,  if 
we  had  advanced  as  was  intended,  the  two  armies  must  have 
met  unawares  and  encountered  each  other  in  the  night,  and 
the  thing  would  have  been  a little  complicated. 

How  he  had  been  informed  so  minutely  of  our  position  was 
a matter  of  surmise ; but  the  general  impression  was  that  the 
supposed  party  of  ladies  who  had  ridden  through  the  camp  on 
the  preceding  day  were  something  else  than  what  they  pre- 
tended to  be,  and  it  was  taken  as  a warning  not  to  place  too 
much  dependence  upon  parties  who  professed  great  zeal  in  the 
Southern  cause. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  I believe  this  tended  greatly  to  widen 
the  breach  between  McCulloch  and  Price ; at  least  after  this 
battle  they  got  to  greater  disagreeance  than  ever. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


SPECULATIONS  AS  TO  OUR  NEXT  MOVEMENT— DIFFERENT  OPINIONS  OF  THE 
GENERALS— AN  EAST  TIME  IN  CAMP— AWAITING  ORDERS— SOME  REMARKS 
ON  INTEMPERANCE  AND  THE  MEANS  ADOPTED  TO  PREVENT  IT — A DELIN- 
QUENT MEMBER  UNDER  ARREST— MARCH  SOUTHWARD— ARRIVAL  AT  CAMP 
WALKER  — COURT  MARTIALS  AND  THEIR  SENTENCES — AN  ATTACK  OP 
TYPHOID  FEVER— A MYSTERIOUS  BUILDING  USED  AS  A HOSPITAL— NEWS 
AND  PRESENTS  FROM  HOME — FRESH  ENTHUSIASM — A SECOND  ADVANCE 
OF  THE  ENEMY— THE  ARMY  AGAIN  TAKES  THE  FIELD— A VISIT  TO  AN 
INDIAN’S  FARM. 

It  was  now  known  that  the  enemy  had  retreated  to  Rolla,  a 
place  about  100  miles  north  from  Springfield,  and  from  which 
place  there  was  communication  with  St.  Louis  by  railway, 
that  being  as  far  south  as  railways  then  extended. 

The  whole  of  the  south-western  part  of  Missouri  was  now 
cleared  of  Federal  troops,  though  it  was  reported  that  a force 
was  being  raised  in  Kansas. 

After  moving  about  and  camping  in  several  places  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Springfield,  we  camped  near  a place  called 
Mount  Vernon,  some  distance  to  the  west  of  Springfield. 
Here  it  was  evident  that  we  were  to  remain  for  a few  days. 
Price’s  army  was  not  with  us,  but  encamped  somewhere  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Springfield ; it  being  necessary,  in  order  to 
obtain  forage  and  supplies,  to  divide  the  army  and  spread  it 
more  over  the  country. 

A regular  camp  was  here  formed,  and  we  were  ordered  to 
resume  our  regular  company  and  battalion  drills.  The  finer 
points  of  our  drill  accomplishments  had  been  somewhat  rubbed 
ofi*  by  the  rougher  and  more  practical  work  of  the  last  few 
weeks.  Our  companies  and  battalions  turned  out  in  a some- 
what diminished  form,  and  the  boys,  having  had  a slight  taste 
of  the  actual,  were  inclined  to  look  upon  such  things  as  drill 
with  contempt,  and  seemed  to  think  they  were  now  perfect 
and  should  not  be  bored  with  drill.  This  was,  however,  only 
brought  up  in  a sort  of  joking  way,  and  drill  was  persevered 
in ; and,  like  a slightly  blunted  instrument  they  were  soon 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


233 


sharpened  up  again,  and,  hardened  by  toil  and  trial,  they 
were  more  efficient  than  ever. 

Their  arms  and  accoutrements  were  polished  and  brightened 
up,  which  somewhat  improved  their  appearance;  but  their 
clothing  or  uniforms,  as  they  were  called,  could  not  be  so 
easily  polished  up,  although  they  had,  no  doubt,  a uniform 
appearance  so  far  as  being  threadbare,  and  dirt  and  ragged- 
ness made  them  much  alike.  Having  now  some  spare  time, 
clothes  were  washed  and  mended,  and  even  these  got  to  be 
improved  in  appearance. 

But  what  was  to  be  our  next  movement?  Were  we  to 
march  on  to  St.  Louis  or  to  act  on  the  defensive?  We  were 
about  200  miles  from  St.  Louis,  with  roads  obstructed  and 
bridges  destroyed,  and  through  a country  where  the  people,  if 
not  hostile,  were  not  to  be  depended  upon;  our  means  of 
transport  deficient,  and  too  far  from  our  base  of  operations  to 
obtain  any  supplies — and  there  were  but  few  supplies  even  at 
the  base  of  operations.  Our  men  were  without  clothing  or 
shoes,  and  the  winter  approaching,  and  to  march  with  our 
small  force  of  about  12,000  men  over  this  distance  to  attack  a 
large  city  on  a navigable  river,  where,  by  the  time  we  got 
there,  an  army  of  40,000  men  and  a fleet  of  gunboats  might 
be  waiting  to  receive  us,  and  with  a force  in  Kansas  menacing 
our  rear,  to  cut  ofi*  our  retreat,  probably  did  not  seem  to 
General  McCulloch  to  be  a very  prudent  movement.  We 
understood,  however,  that  he  was  awaiting  instructions  from 
the  War  Department  at  Bichmond,  with  some  promise  of  rein- 
forcements and  supplies. 

Price,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to  place  great  dependence 
on  his  political  influence.  His  proposal,  we  understood  to 
be,  was  to  call  together  a State  Legislature  in  some  part  of 
Southern  Missouri,  pass  an  Act  of  Secession,  declare  the  State 
out  of  the  Union  and  joined  to  the  Confederacy,  and  then 
march  on  St.  Louis,  when  all  the  people  in  the  State  would 
declare  in  his  favour  and  rally  round  his  standard. 

MUulloch  did  not  seem  to  have  much  faith  in  such  a pro- 
posal. He  knew  Price  was  very  popular  with  such  followers 
as  had  already  joined  him,  but  they  were  very  poor  and  ill 
provided ; and,  although  the  whole  of  the  southern  part  of 
Missouri  was  cleared  of  Federal  troops,  which  was  said  to  have 
been  the  cause  which  had  prevented  them  from  joining  with 
the  South,  yet  it  was  still  very  questionable  what  the  feeling 


234 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


of  the  majority  of  the  population  might  be,  and  therefore  he 
did  not  care  to  trust  much  to  outward  demonstrations  or  the 
assurances  of  politicians. 

It  was  supposed  that  these  propositions  had  been  laid  before 
the  War  Department  at  Richmond,  and  we  remained  here 
awaiting  orders. 

We  had  now  nothing  to  do  but  a couple  of  hours’  drill  each 
day,  which  was  altogether  too  little  for  men  placed  such  as 
ours  were.  Fine  spirited  young  fellows,  hardened  and  finely 
trained  by  the  wild  outdoor  life,  privations,  toil,  and  excite- 
ment of  the  last  four  months,  and  now  placed  in  a camp  which 
was  to  them  like  a paradise,  while  farmers’  waggons  came  to 
them  every  day  selling  at  such  cheap  rates  as  quite  astonished 
them  such  things  as  milk,  butter,  eggs,  turkeys,  common  fowls, 
young  pigs,  potatoes,  apples,  peaches,  honey,  and  other  things 
with  which  this  fine  country  abounded.  The  men  lived  in 
luxury,  and  the  balmy  air  of  the  early  autumn  of  this  beautiful 
climate  braced  them  up,  and  two,  or  at  most  three;  hours’  drill 
each  day,  and  guard  duty  but  light,  was  a considerable  change 
from  the  labours  they  had  lately  undergone. 

It  might,  therefore,  be  supposed  that  that  meddling, 
mischief-making  personage,  who,  I have  no  doubt,  was  at  the 
bottom  of  this  whole  affair,  would  be  stirring  them  up  to  some 
wild  pranks.  These  mischievous  pranks  were  of  frequent 
occurrence,  although  none  of  them  were  of  a very  bad  or 
serious  kind,  but  I had  often  to  take  some  of  the  younger  boys 
to  task. 

It  frequently  happened  on  the  marches,  while  bivouacking, 
that  it  was  a little  difficult  at  reveille  to  get  some  of  the 
younger  boys  up,  in  order  to  get  their  breakfast  cooked  and  be 
ready  to  fall  in.  Being  amongst  trees  or  bushes,  there  was  no 
room  to  form  the  company  in  line,  and  they  were  just  called 
together  in  any  fashion,  and  having  answered  to  their  names, 
and  heard  any  orders  or  details  made,  they  proceeded  to  cook 
their  breakfast  and  prepare  for  the  march. 

Some  of  them,  however,  being  sorely  fatigued  and  loath  to 
get  up,  would,  when  their  names  were  called,  cry  ‘‘  Here”  from 
where  they  might  be  lying  in  their  blanket  near  the  root  of  a 
tree,  thinking  that  in  the  darkness  their  position  would  not  be 
discovered,  and  that  they  would  thus  get  resting  a little  longer. 
This  used  to  irritate  me,  and  when  they  would  cry  “ Here  ” 
without  getting  up,  I would  cry,  “ Where,  sir.  You  are  not 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


235 


here,  and  are  marked  absent,”  which  was  a delinquency  which 
was  always  pretty  severely  punished  by  extra  or  fatigue  duty. 

In  this  camp  their  conduct  was  quite  changed,  and  having 
so  little  to  do,  they  would  be  often  up  talking  and  making  a 
noise  long  before  roll-call,  to  the  disturbance  of  others  who 
wished  to  sleep,  and  these  persons  had  been  complaining  to  me 
about  it.  Intending  to  check  the  nuisance,  I woke  up  one 
morning  about  two  hours  before  roll-call,  and  heard  much 
talking  and  laughing.  I drew  near  quietly  to  listen.  I heard 
the  young  rascals  going  through  the  form  of  calling  the  roll, 
one  calling  out  the  names,  not  only  of  the  company,  but  of  any 
notables  in  the  regiment  or  army,  while  others  would  answer, 
accounting  for  them  in  some  ridiculous  way  or  as  characteristic 
of  the  personage  so  called,  something  in  this  way  : — R.  C. — 
Playing  poker;  Captain  L. — Writing  love  letters;  General 
Price — Making  a speech ; T.  Gallagher  (the  name  of  the  sutler) 
— Watering  whisky  ; R.  M‘C. — Writing  poetry ; Lieutenant- 
Colonel  H. — Got  the  gout;  Colonel  H. — Got  Gallagher  (a 
name  given  to  an  article  sold  by  the  sutler ; J.  B. — In  the 
guard-house ; W.  I. — Away  with  Indian  Sail ; Sergeant  W. — 
“ Here.”  “ Where,  sir  ? You  are  not  here  at  all,  but  you 
come  here  saying  you  are  here,  whether  you  are  here  or  not. 
I will  mark  you  absent.”  This  was  too  much  for  me ; I could 
stand  it  no  longer ; I rushed  in  amongst  them,  threatening  all 
sorts  of  punishments.  The  young  rascals  were  all  immediately 
down,  and  huddled  up  in  their  blankets,  pretending  to  be 
asleep,  though  convulsed  with  laughter.  Of  course  I could 
only  caution  them  afterwards  against  making  noise  in  the 
camp  between  tattoo  and  reveille  and  disturbing  the  rest  of 
others.  I liked  the  boys  ; they  were  mere  lads  between  1 6 
and  20  years  of  age. 

Of  the  older  members  of  the  company,  and  indeed  the  whole 
regiment,  the  conduct  on  the  whole  was  remarkably  good. 
They,  of  course,  nearly  all  occupied  good  and  respectable 
stations  in  civil  life  previous  to  the  war.  But  the  mere  fact  of 
them  being  taken  away  from  steady  occupations  and  regular 
social  habits  and  thrown  into  such  a varied  and  exciting  life, 
and  divested  of  all  care  and  responsibility  beyond  the  duties  of 
a soldier,  seemed  sufficient  to  justify  many  in  regarding  the 
affair  as  a frolic  and  make  them  give  way  to  excesses  and 
wantonness.  While  we  are  lying  at  this  camp  awaiting  orders 
I will  review  our  general  behaviour  from  the  time  we  first 


236 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


entered  the  service,  and  touch  upon  one  great  social  evil 
vdiich  there  was  much  temptation  to  indulge  in — I mean 
drunkenness,  and  the  means  which  were  adopted  to  check  it. 
It  did  seem  at  first  that  this  was  going  to  be  a serious  matter. 

The  men  of  the  country  of  which  the  regiment  was  composed 
were,  in  general,  of  sober  habits,  and  except  in  cities  such  as 
New  Orleans,  which  were  supposed  to  be  partly  Europeanised, 
drunkenness  did  not  prevail  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  regarded 
as  a serious  evil.  But  the  fact  of  so  many  men  taken  away 
from  their  regular  duties,  social  habits,  and  responsibilities  in 
civil  life,  and  thrown  together  in  the  way  I have  described, 
did  have  its  efiect,  and  it  began  to  show  at  Camp  Walker  in 
New  Orleans. 

Bigid  measures  were  adopted  to  stop  the  evil.  These  were, 
that  the  men  should  be  prevented  from  getting  liquor. 
Accordingly,  every  place  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  camp 
where  liquor  was  sold  was  shut  up.  The  severest  penalties 
were  imposed  upon  anyone  bringing  liquor  into  the  camp,  and 
all  packages  and  parcels  coming  into  camp  for  private 
individuals  were  subject  to  search.  Leave  of  absence  from  the 
camp  was  limited  and  restricted. 

In  any  company  in  which  a certain  number  of  case|  of 
drunkenness  was  recorded,  the  leave  of  the  whole  company 
was  stopped  for  a time.  This  last  seemed  a little  hard,  but  it 
was  intended  to  throw  the  responsibility  on  the  company  in 
general,  and  induce  them  to  use  their  endeavours  to  keep 
their  members  sober.  To  the  drunkards  themselves  this  order 
did  not  apply,  no  punishment  or  penalty  was  attached  except  that 
they  should  be  kept  under  proper  guard  or  control  until  sober. 

These  regulations  were  read  out  in  “ General  Orders,”  and 
were  at  first  logically  approved  of. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  until  the  futility  of  such  measures 
became  lamentably  apparent.  Drunkenness  did  not  diminish 
in  any  way,  but  increased  at  a fearful  rate.  Men  who  had 
always  before  been  strictly  sober  in  their  habits  were  now  to 
be  seen  reeling  mad  with  drink,  and  while  their  comrades 
would  be  trying  to  keep  them  quiet  they  would  become  more 
infuriated,  offering  to  fight  the  whole  camp  individually  or 
collectively,  and  pouring  out  torrents  of  abuse  and  defiance 
against  the  authors  of  such  an  order,  and  some  of  them  I 
believe  not  so  drunk  as  they  pretended  to  be,  affirming  that 
they  never  in  their  life  had  been  drunk  before,  and  did  not 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


23T 


care  for  drink,  but  they  intended  to  show  General  Tracy  or 
those  who  issued  this  order,  that  if  they  wanted  to  get  drink 
they  would  have  it  in  spite  of  all  the  orders  and  restrictions 
he  might  impose. 

Such  scenes  were  not  isolated  occurrences,  but  were  numerous, 
and  it  seemed,  as  some  of  the  boys  remarked,  that  General 
Orders  'No. — had  set  everyone  on  the  spree. 

It  now  seemed  that  many  of  the  men  had  taken  the  order 
as  a gross  insult  to  their  honour  and  integrity ; that  instead 
of  punishing  and  restricting  the  few  of  the  ill-behaved,  who 
were  the  cause  of  the  evil,  they  were  exonerating  them  from 
responsibility,  justifying  and  protecting  them,  and  for  their 
sakes  punishing  and  degrading  the  large  body  who  wished 
to  be  sober,  law  abiding,  and  dutiful,  and  that  they  were  just 
doing  their  best  to  create  drunkards. 

War  was  declared  against  the  order  by  an  almost  unanimous 
desire  to  show  the  fallacy  of  it,  and  things  got  daily  worse. 
Men  who  before  would  have  scorned  to  walk  ten  yards  for  all 
the  drink  in  the  city,  and  who  would  have  denounced  and 
despised  a drunkard,  were  now  ready  to  join  in,  or  at  least  to 
wink  at,  any  attempt  to  circumvent  the  order,  and  to  do  so  was 
regarded  with  applause. 

The  men,  to  show  their  contempt  for  an  order  sought  to  be 
enforced  without  regard  to  their  honour,  would  mount  on  each 
other’s  backs  and  climb  over  the  wall  at  night,  and  by  pre- 
concerted signals  flasks  of  liquor  were  thrown  over  the  wall, 
and  any  device  whereby  liquor  was  brought  into  camp  in 
violation  of  the  order  was  regarded  as  a merit  and  applauded. 

This  state  of  things  continued  when  we  left  New  Orleans. 
The  order,  of  course,  being  a camp  order,  did  not  go  with  us, 
but  its  evil  effects  did,  and  the  same  policy  was  continued  with 
no  better  results ; and  at  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  we  had 
a good  deal  of  trouble,  .and  some  measures  were  adopted,  such 
as  destroying  the  drink  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  this  had  no 
effect ; the  more  they  tried  to  keep  drink  from  the  men  the 
more  the  men  strove  to  have  it,  and  disturbances  in  the  camp 
were  frequent. 

By  the  rules  of  the  service  a sutler’s  store  and  canteen 
should  be  attached  to  a regiment.  This  was  considered  an 
actual  necessity;  but  to  have  such  a thing  would  strangely 
conflict  with  the  policy  which  was  being  adopted  in  regard  to 
drunkenness. 


238 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


At  length  the  sober  and  law-abiding  portion  of  the  regiment, 
which  consisted  of  at  least  95  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  formed  a 
code  of  resolutions  to  be  adopted  as  a general  principle. 

These  resolutions  affirmed  that  men  were  not  children,  and 
were  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  must  be  held 
responsible  for  their  own  actions,  and  that  drunkards  were  not 
entitled  to  any  undue  protection  or  indulgence. 

That  drunkenness  was  unmanly  and  disgusting,  and  such  as 
made  a merit  of  indulging  in  it  were  unworthy  of  the  associa- 
tion of  brave  and  honourable  men. 

That  those  who  took  drink  and  became  quarrelsome  or 
indulged  in  riot  or  braggadocio  were  poltroons  or  cowards, 
who  dared  not  in  their  sober  senses  give  vent  to  their  passions, 
but  took  drink  to  give  them  “ Dutch  courage.’’ 

That  drunkenness  was  demoralizing  and  injurious  to  the 
service,  and  should  in  every  way  be  discountenanced  and 
discouraged;  but  if  suppressed  by  authority,  it  should  be 
the  drunkards  themselves  that  should  be  dealt  with,  without 
punishing  or  restricting  the  liberties  of  the  sober  and  well- 
behaved. 

That  the  silly  plea  of  temptation  set  up  in  their  behalf  only 
tended  to  make  men  believe  that  if  they  could  get  liquor  they 
were  justified  in  getting  drunk,  and  that  the  fault  did  not  lie 
with  them,  but  with  those  who  sold  or  gave  them  the  liquor, 
and  that  such  doctrines  tended  to  weaken  men’s  minds  and 
tempt  them  to  cast  ofi*  honourable  responsibilities,  and  were 
destructive  to  manly  resolution  and  self-respect,  and  only 
served  to  promote  drunkenness. 

That  if  a man  got  drunk  and  become  quarrelsome  or  riotous 
he  should  be  immediately  seized  and  bound,  and  put  into 
confinement,  and  afterwards  punished ; no  one  should  be 
allowed  to  speak  to  him,  and  any  one  interfering  on  his  behalf 
or  obstructing  the  police  guard  in  executing  their  duty,  should 
also  be  strictly  punished ; and,  further,  that  the  vagaries  of  a 
drunken  man  should  never  be  applauded,  or  laughed  at,  or 
regarded  with  complacency. 

Of  course  no  ‘‘  General  Order  ” of  this  kind  was  issued,  but 
such  principles  were  promulgated  as  being  the  feeling  and 
sentiments  of  the  regiment,  and  these  were  brought  under  the 
notice  of  General  McCulloch,  who  expressed  his  approval  in  a 
‘‘  General  Order  ” appointing  a sutler.  The  substance  of  this 
order  was : that  he  trusted  that  men  such  as  they  had  some 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


239 


resolution  and  strength  of  mind,  and  would  not  sacrifice  their 
self-respect  under  a plea  applicable  only  to  children,  and  old 
women  of  both  sexes,  that  because  liquor  was  obtainable  they 
must  needs  make  beasts  of  themselves.  He  would  be  ashamed 
to  say  that  a canteen  could  not  be  attached  to  a regiment,  or 
that  the  regular  and  lawful  use  of  liquor  must  be  suppressed 
among  the  civil  inhabitants  of  the  district,  because  of  the 
weakness  of  his  men,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  have  such  men  in 
his  army.  He  regarded  men  who  must  get  drunk  because 
liquor  was  obtainable  as  despicable  sots,  unfit  for  the  com- 
panionship of  respectable  men  and  true  soldiers,  a nuisance  to 
society,  and  the  sooner  they  drank  themselves  oflT  the  face  of 
the  earth  the  better. 

This  manifesto  was  received  with  great  satisfaction  and 
applause.  It  was  known  that  “ Ben,”  as  the  General  was 
called,  was  not  a total  abstainer,  but  a strictly  temperate  man, 
and  no  man  knew  better  how  to  use  and  not  abuse  the  subject 
in  question.  Although  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  every 
man  was  possessed  of  the  same  strength  of  mind,  it  was 
universally  allowed,  and  afterwards  proved,  that  to  strengthen 
their  minds  he  had  touched  the  proper  chord ; and  no  better 
appeal  could  have  been  made  or  a better  policy  adopted. 

This  new  view  of  the  subject  was  endorsed  and  a new  system 
pursued.  Drunkards  were  no  longer  sympathised  with,  coaxed 
or  petted,  but  more  strictly  dealt  with.  A sutler’s  canteen  was 
attached  to  the  regiment,  so  that  liquor  was  no  longer  a pro- 
scribed or  forbidden  article.  By  this,  the  plea  or  excuse  of  a 
clever  or  smart  trick  could  no  longer  be  applied  to  cover  the 
bringing  of  liquor  into  the  camp,  or  to  getting  out  clandestinely 
to  obtain  it,  and  the  responsibility  for  good  behaviour  was  left 
more  to  the  men’s  own  honour  and  self-respect. 

The  effect  produced  was  marvellous,  few  of  the  men  had  yet 
become  habituated  to  drink,  and  cases  of  drunkenness  became 
exceedingly  rare.  If  any  one  did  so  far  forget  himself,  it  was 
remarkable  to  see  the  change  in  his  behaviour,  even  when 
drunk ; instead  of  assuming  a bullying  or  swaggering  attitude 
he  would  now  creep  quietly  out  of  sight  and  try  to  prevent  the 
thing  being  known,  and  seemed  to  feel  ashamed  of  his  conduct 
instead  of  boasting  of  it  as  formerly.  In  short,  drunkenness 
almost  entirely  disappeared,  and  at  this  time,  after  four 
months’  service,  I may  safely  say  that  as  a whole  a more  sober 
and  orderly  set  of  men  could  not  be  found  in  any  sphere  of 


240 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


life.  There  was  no  doubt  always  a love  for  frolic  and  mischief, 
but  drunkenness  was  regarded  as  low  and  vulgar.  Of  course 
there  were  always  exceptions,  and  some  were  more  diffi- 
cult to  cure  than  others,  and  each  company  generally  had 
their  pest. 

To  show  the  stubborn  spirit  of  opposition  which  some  men 
will  display  in  such  things,  I may  mention  a little  incident 
which  happened  not  long  after  the  new  resolutions  had  been 
adopted. 

There  was  in  one  of  the  Red  River  companies  a little  Irish- 
man, named  Dan,  who  did  not  quite  agree  with  the  spirit  of 
the  resolutions.  Honour  and  self-respect  he  considered  all 
very  well  in  their  way,  but  he  did  not  like  such  things  to 
interfere  with  his  whisky.  He  did  not  so  much  object  to  the 
order  given  at  'New  Orleans  by  General  Tracy,  because  if  they 
thought  to  put  whisky  beyond  his  reach  they  would  have  to 
put  it  a good  long  way  indeed.  He  was  enterprising,  and 
could  obtain  it ; and  the  more  difficulty  there  was  in  obtaining 
it  the  more  delicious  and  enjoyable  it  became.  He  enjoyed 
the  fun  of  getting  it,  and  liked  to  boast  of  it,  and  it  was  a 

common  expression  of  Dan’s,  “ That  he  wouldn’t  give  a d n 

for  drink  if  it  did  not  give  him  some  trouble  to  get  it,  but  to 
punish  a man  because  he  took  a drop  of  drink  he  considered  a 
deadly  sin.” 

While  we  were  at  Camp  Walker,  Arkansas,  although  plenty 
of  liquor  could  be  had  at  the  sutler’s  canteen,  Dan  and  some 
others  got  out  of  camp  one  night  and  went  about  seven  miles 
to  a distillery,  where  they  got  their  canteens  filled,  and,  of 
course,  got  drunk.  For  this  they  were  punished  and  put  to 
hard  labour  at  chopping  wood,  but  as  two  days  afterwards  we 
started  on  the  march  into  Missouri  they  were,  as  a continu- 
ance of  the  punishment,  ordered  to  carry  their  knapsacks  on 
the  march.  The  weather  was  intensely  hot,  and  the  men  thus 
punished  suffered  so  much  from  thirst,  and  the  demands  for 
water  became  so  great,  that  the  doctor  requested  that  the 
knapsacks  should  be  taken  off.  A halt  was  called,  and  the 
men  were  ordered  to  take  ofi*  their  knapsacks.  They  were  now 
somewhat  repentant,  and  gladly  took  them  off,  most  of  them 
declaring  that  they  would  never  make  such  fools  of  them- 
selves again,  while  Dan,  seemingly  disgusted  at  what  he  con- 
sidered their  weakness  in  thus  giving  in,  as  it  were,  stoutly 
refused  to  put  ofi*  his  knapsack.  He  said  he  would  just  be 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


241 


d d if  he  would  put  it  off ; he  was  able  to  carry  his  knap- 

sack, and  he  was  going  to  do  it.  Dan  was  taken  at  his  word 
and  allowed  to  carry  it ; and  afterwards,  for  many  a day,  Dan 
trudged  along  with  his  knapsack  on  his  back,  his  trousers 
rolled  up  to  his  knees,  his  thoughts  to  himself,  scarcely  speak- 
ing to  anyone,  generally  preferring,  if  possible,  to  get  out  of 
the  ranks  and  walk  by  himself  in  the  prairie  on  either  side  of 
the  road.  I never  heard  of  him  being  in  any  more  drunken 
scrapes.  He  would  drink,  no  doubt,  but  he  would  do  it  on 
the  quiet  and  by  himself,  as  whisky  frolics  were  no  longer 
popular. 

In  our  company  we  had  one  incorrigible  named  Joe,  who 
gave  a good  deal  of  trouble.  Joe  in  civil  life  was  a marble- 
cutter  or  sculptor,  and  was  a young  man  of  some  refinement 
and  culture,  and  held  a good  position ; but  on  giving  up  civil 
life  he  seemed  to  have  divested  himself  of  all  care  and  responsi- 
bility. Joe  was  not  so  much  of  a drunkard  as  a general 
delinquent.  He  had  considerable  talent,  but  so  little  applica- 
tion that  he  seemed  silly  and  inclined  to  glory  in  making  him- 
self look  stupid.  He  was  most  obedient  and  submissive,  but 
would  forget,  or  feign  to  forget,  in  five  minutes  what  was  told 
him.  He  had  to  be  driven  to  everything.  His  great  besetting 
fault  was  absenting  himself  from  the  camp  and  from  his  duty, 
and  going  after  women,  with  whom  he  seemed  to  have  been  a 
general  favourite,  and  in  whose  company  he  probably  was  less 
stupid. 

At  this  camp  at  Mount  Yernon  Joe  got  into  a very  serious 
difficulty.  He  was  found,  as  a sentinel,  sleeping  on  his  post. 
This  was  a grave  offence,  and  was  punishable  by  death ; and, 
had  we  been  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  this  sentence  might 
have  been  carried  out.  He  was  put  under  a strict  guard,  to 
be  tried  by  court-martial. 

I may  also  mention  that  we  had  in  our  company  an  Irish- 
man named  Tim  D.,  who  was  a man  of  a very  different  stamp 
from  the  last  described.  Tim  was  a highly  respectable  man  of 
good  education,  though  he  still  retained  a bit  of  the  brogue. 
Tim  was  zealous  in  his  duty,  an  excellent  soldier,  and  very 
popular  with  the  company  on  account  of  his  bluntness  and 
simple  good-nature.  In  civil  life  he  had  long  been  employed 
as  a clerk  in  the  office  of  a newspaper  in  Baton  Rouge,  which 
was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Democratic  party,  of  which 
party  Tim  was  a devoted  adherent.  The  contemporary  and 

Q 


242 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


rival  of  that  paper  was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  ‘‘  Native 
American”  party,  which,  as  a party,  was  somewhat  hostile  to 
foreigners ; and  that  paper  had  for  its  motto  a saying  or  order, 
which  they  maintained  had  once  been  given  by  Washington 
on  some  particular  emergency,  the  words  of  which  were,  Put 
none  but  Americans  on  guard  to-night,”  as  if  implying  that 
foreigners  were  not  to  be  trusted. 

Several  of  the  officers  of  our  regiment  had  formerly  belonged 
to  that  party  and  supported  the  latter  paper,  and  Tim  lost  no 
opportunity  when  guard  duty  had  become  oppressive  and  the 
men  were  tired,  or  the  night  was  bad,  or  the  post  dangerous,  to 
retort  on  them  the  words  of  the  motto,  and  recommend  them 
to  “put  none  but  Americans  on  guard  to-night,”  and  the  good 
natured  banter  between  Tim  as  a “ Naturalised  Foreigner  ” and 
some  of  the  old  supporters  of  the  “ Native  American  Party  ” 
caused  a good  deal  of  amusement. 

We  had  been  in  this  camp  about  three  weeks  and  it  was 
now  into  September,  and  we  at  length  received  orders  to 
march.  The  order  said  “ the  movement  was  not  a retrograde 
one,”  but  did  not  say  where  we  were  going  to  be  sent  to.  In 
the  same  orders  the  thanks  of  the  Congress  at  Pichmond  was 
tendered  to  the  army  for  the  victory  of  Oakhill,  as  the  battle 
was  called  by  the  Confederates,  though  by  the  Federals  it  was 
called  the  battle  of  Wilson’s  Creek.  Special  mention  was  also 
made  of  the  gallantry  of  the  3rd  Louisiana  Regiment  in 
capturing  Siegel’s  battery. 

Our  regiment  got  great  praise  for  capturing  this  battery,  but 
it  seemed  to  me  to  be  more  of  a sudden  rush  and  surprise  of 
the  enemy  than  a desperate  fight,  and  I thought  their  deter- 
mined and  stubborn  fight  with,  and  defeat  of,  the  United 
States’  Regulars  in  the  morning  was  worth  three  times  the 
praise.  It  was,  however,  a valuable  capture,  and  the  attack 
was  well  conducted  by  General  MUulloch. 

We  were  to  march  at  daybreak,  the  captured  guns  to  be 
taken  along,  and  the  whole  of  our  brigade  to  be  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  H.  (our  colonel.)  The  line  was  formed 
at  daybreak,  our  regiment  as  usual  on  the  right.  Our  colonel 
being  in  command  of  the  whole  brigade,  of  course  was  not 
seen  at  all  by  us.  Our  lieutenant-colonel  and  major  were 
both  absent,  and  the  regiment  was  commanded  by  a captain. 

The  conjecture  throughout  the  army  was.  Where  would  we 
be  going  to  ? — and  there  were  many  surmises  and  rumours. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


243 


In  marching,  when  the  road  was  narrow  and  confined,  the 
troops  generally  marched  in  files  of  two,  but  when  the  road 
was  sufficiently  broad  and  would  admit  of  it,  they  doubled 
ranks  and  marched  in  files  of  four.  This  gave  greater  room 
between  the  files  and  gave  more  freedom  and  air  to  the  men. 
At  this  place  the  road  was  broad  and  good,  and  the  captain 
commanding,  when  giving  the  orders  to  advance,  intending 
them  to  double  ranks  and  form  files  of  four,  thought  to  make 
a little  improvement  in  the  manner  of  giving  the  order  according 
to  his  own  notion.  So  he  gave  the  command  : — “ By  doubling.” 
‘‘  Right  face.”  ‘‘  Forward,  march  ! ” 

‘‘To  Dublin,  by  jabers,”  shouted  Tim  D.  “Arrah,  good 
luck,  me  boys,  we  are  going  to  Dublin.  Shure  the  gineral  has 
found  out  the  right  place  to  go  to  at  last.” 

“ Where  do  you  say  we  are  going  to  ? ” cried  two  or  three 
voices. 

“ To  Dublin,  don’t  you  hear*?”  cried  Tim. 

“Shut  up,  you  bogtrotter!”  cried  some  of  the  boys. 

“ Ah  ! ha ! me  boys,”  continued  Tim,  “ when  yees  gets  to 
Dublin,  it  will  be  you  uns  will  be  the  ‘ Foreigners  ’ there, 
and  it  will  be  me  that  will  be  the  ‘ Native  American.’  ” 

We  marched  westward,  and  the  supposition  at  first  was  that 
we  were  going  into  Kansas,  but  the  programme  was  soon  made 
known. 

The  Confederate  Government  not  being  able  to  send  rein- 
forcements, or  equip  the  army  so  as  to  warrant  a forward 
movement  on  St.  Louis,  the  arrangement  seems  to  have  been 
that  General  M‘Culloch  with  his  Confederate  troops  should 
fall  back  within  the  Confederate  lines  nearer  his  base  of 
supplies ; that  Price  should  establish  his  head-quarters  at 
Springfield,  and  use  his  political  influence  in  drawing  men  to 
his  standard,  raise  as  large  a force  as  possible,  and  more 
completely  organise  his  army.  About  3000  stand  of  superior 
arms,  which  had  been  captured  at  Oakhill,  were  handed  over 
to  him.  While  M‘Culloch  would  also  try  to  augment  his 
army,  and  be  within  supporting  distance  of  Price,  and  still  not 
impoverish  the  district  of  Springfield  by  the  presence  of  his 
army,  but  leave  all  the  resources  for  Price’s  troops,  while  the 
latter  should  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  Such  was 
the  position,  as  we  were  given  to  understand ; but  there  was 
evidently  some  hitch  or  deadlock  somewhere,  and  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  talk  and  surmise. 


244 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Price  and  McCulloch  were  certainly  not  on  very  good  terms. 
Price  and  his  army  were  not  in  the  service  of  the  Confederate 
States.  They  took  the  name  of  and  acted  as  “ Missouri  State 
Troops;”  and  Missouri  had  not  formally  seceded  from  the  Union 
and  joined  the  Confederacy,  and  they  were  thus  acting  in  a 
manner  independently. 

'No  doubt  the  Confederate  Government  wished  to  humour 
General  Price  and  get  his  alliance  and  assistance  in  checking 
the  advance  of  the  Federals,  and,  if  possible,  bringing  over  to 
them  the  State  of  Missouri ; but  from  the  position  in  which  he 
stood,  they  had  no  control  over  him  or  his  forces. 

I have  heard  it  said,  although  with  what  truth  I do  not 
know,  that  the  conditions  were  that  Price  with  his  army  would 
join  the  Confederate  service  if  he  were  made  a major-general 
and  have  full  command  of  the  Army  of  the  West. 

On  the  other  hand,  McCulloch  was  not  sufficient  of  a red- 
tapeist  or  a politician  to  be  much  of  a court  favourite,  and  his 
influence  at  Richmond  was  not  great ; but  his  known  ability 
for  command,  and  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  his  army, 
seemed  to  convince  the  War  Department  that  to  interfere  with 
him  in  any  way  would  be  bad  policy. 

However  this  might  be,  there  was  a misunderstanding  and 
mismanagement  somewhere,  and  though  the  victory  at  Oakhill 
had  given  us  control  of  Southern  Missouri,  no  advantage  was 
taken  of  it,  or  obtained  from  it  in  the  way  of  advancing. 

We  marched  westward  by  the  way  of  Sarcoxie  and  towards 
the  Kansas  border,  thence  southward  through  a country 
abounding  in  lead  ore,  the  land  on  each  side  of  the  road  being 
honeycombed  with  pits,  varying  in  depth  from  three  to  30  feet, 
from  which  the  ore  had  been  dug,  each  in  itself  being  a 
miniature  lead  mine.  We  also  passed,  somewhere  in  this 
neighbourhood,  I forget  where,  numerous  small  pits  from  which 
coal  had  been  taken  at  two  or  three  feet  from  the  surface. 

As  we  had  now  no  enemy  to  deal  with,  the  march  was  not 
marked  by  any  particular  incident.  The  weather  had  become 
rather  wet,  and  the  marching  got  dull. 

There  had  been  some  few  delinquents  for  various  ofiences 
sent  on  to  Fayetteville,  where  a court-martial  was  to  be  held, 
and  the  only  prisoner  under  guard  was  the  last  delinquent, 
‘‘  Joe,”  of  our  company,  caught  sleeping  on  post,  and  he  was 
taken  along  under  charge  of  the  brigade  guard.  There  was 
no  guard  tent,  and  the  prisoner  had  just  to  lie  down  on  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


245 


ground  at  night,  and  a sentinel  stood  guard  over  him.  Joe 
somehow  always  managed  to  make  out  pretty  easily,  and 
looked  more  stupid  than  ever,  but  his  stupidness  was  only  in 
appearance. 

One  wet  and  cheerless  night,  after  a long  day’s  march,  Joe 
was  lying  rolled  in  his  blanket  alongside  of  a fallen  tree.  It 
Avas  long  past  midnight,  and  all  around  were  fast  asleep.  The 
sentinel,  fatigued  after  his  day’s  march,  felt  it  hard  to  keep 
standing  on  his  feet,  and,  seeing  his  charge  fast  asleep,  he  sat 
down  on  a block  of  wood  beside  the  sleeping  prisoner,  placed 
the  butt  of  his  musket  on  the  ground,  wrapped  his  blanket 
round  his  shoulders,  and  leant  his  back  against  the  fallen  tree. 
The  poor  fellow,  overcome  with  fatigue,  soon  dropped  asleep, 
and  his  hands  relaxing  the  grasp  of  his  musket,  it  fell  down 
across  the  body  of  the  prisoner.  The  musket  falling  upon  Joe 
woke  him  up ; he  looked  around  and  soon  realised  the  position. 
He  rose  quietly,  took  up  the  musket,  and,  taking  the  post  of 
the  sentinel,  kept  guard  until  the  relief  came  round.  Having 
crossed  arms,  he  passed  the  order : Duty  to  guard  this 

prisoner,”  said  he,  pointing  to  the  sleeping  man ; ‘‘  he  is  some- 
thing of  a lunatic,  and  if  he  awakens  will  probably  want  to  take 
your  arms  and  say  that  he  is  the  sentinel,  so  you  must  be  on 
the  look-out.”  So  saying,  Joe  went  off  to  his  company’s  bivouac, 
got  into  a tent,  and  made  himself  comfortable  for  the  rest  of 
the  night,  saying,  in  answer  to  inquiries,  that  he  had  been 
relieved. 

Next  morning  it  was  noised  around  that  a sentinel  had  slept 
on  his  post  and  that  a prisoner  had  escaped.  Joe  was  imme- 
diately sent  back  to  the  charge  of  the  guard,  having  obtained 
but  very  temporary  relief.  Joe  had  a peculiar  drawling  or 
plaintive  way  of  talking,  and  spoke  as  if  half-crying,  and  on 
this  occasion  said  he  thought  he  was  entitled  to  some  con- 
sideration, as  he  had  filled  the  vacant  post  which  had  been  left 
unguarded. 

About  two  days  after  this  we  arrived  at  Camp  Walker  in 
Arkansas,  which  we  had  left  about  the  end  of  July,  and  where 
we  were  to  rest  for  the  present. 

Camp  Walker,  in  Arkansas,  though  greatly  superior  in  every 
way  to  its  namesake  at  ISTew  Orleans,  was  still  not  a favourite 
camp,  and  we  trusted  we  would  not  be  long  here.  The  usual 
routine  of  camp  life  and  drill  was  continued.  We  here  got  to 
learn  a little  of  how  the  war  had  been  progressing.  The  Con- 


246 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


federates  had  been  successful  in  general,  but  the  more  thought- 
ful did  not  consider  that  this  would  tend  towards  an  early 
termination  of  the  war,  and  that  we  might  look  out  for  desperate 
work  to  come  unless  something  turned  up.  No  reinforcements 
were  likely  to  be  forthcoming,  except  some  newly-appointed 
officers  who  had  been  sent  by  the  War  Department  to  fill  offices 
in  the  Army  of  the  West;  but  these  were  very  poor  reinforce- 
ments indeed.  These  offices  were  mostly  at  stations  and  depots, 
and  were  mostly  sinecures,  and,  as  was  generally  allowed,  were 
created  more  for  the  benefit  of  the  incumbents  than  for  any 
actual  use  they  would  be  to  the  service. 

These  appointments  were  of  course  to  the  sons  of  wealthy 
men,  politicians,  and  court  favourites.  They  each,  of  course, 
held  a commission,  with  a certain  rank,  by  which  they  obtained 
the  honour  of  being  in  the  army,  and  walked  about  in  hand- 
some uniforms  without  being  exposed  to  the  dangers  or  hard- 
ships of  the  field.  Certain  of  these,  with  a sprinkling  of  field 
and  line  officers,  now  sat  on  a general  court-martial  being  held 
at  Fayetteville  to  try  such  cases  as  had  been  standing  over, 
and  a few  days  after  our  arrival  in  this  camp  one  of  their 
sentences  was  being  carried  out,  which  was  a “ drumming  out.” 

The  culprit  belonged  to  one  of  the  Arkansas  regiments,  and 
was  of  such  a depraved  character  that  I do  not  think  they 
could  have  imposed  a sentence  that  would  have  pleased  him 
better.  It  was  a cold  evening  in  October,  the  whole  brigade 
was  drawn  out  with  ranks  facing  inwards.  The  2Drisoner  was 
stripped  of  his  uniform,  such  as  it  was,  and  dressed  in  a felon’s 
suit,  which  we  thought,  as  we  stood  shivering  in  the  threadbare 
and  tattered  remains  of  our  thin  summer  uniforms,  would  be 
to  him  at  least  a pleasant  change.  His  head  was  shaved  bare 
and  a board  hung  round  his  neck  with  the  word  ‘‘  thief  ” 
painted  upon  it  in  large  letters.  The  fellow  was  marched  along 
the  line  between  the  ranks,  followed  by  a fife  and  drum  playing 
the  Rogue’s  March,”  to  which  he  kept  time  pretty  well. 

He  walked  along  philosophically,  casting  an  eye  of  contempt 
on  the  ragged  and  destitute-looking  men  on  each  side  of  him, 
as  much  as  to  say,  “ There  is  not  much  more  to  steal  from  you  ; 
I am  going  to  ‘ fresh  fields  and  pastures  new.’  ” How  he  had 
got  into  the  regiment  it  is  difficult  to  say,  as  these  Arkansas 
men,  whatever  other  vices  they  might  have,  that  of  thieving 
was  not  predominant. 

About  this  time,  perhaps  owing  to  a change  from  a period 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


247 


of  excitement,  toil,  and  activity  under  a hot  sun,  to  a state  of 
comparative  inactivity  in  a cold,  wet  climate,  without  adequate 
clothing  or  shoes,  quite  a number  were  taken  down  with  fever, 
said  to  be  some  sort  of  “ typhoid  fever,’’  and  I also  was  seized 
with  it,  and  confined  to  my  tent.  The  poor  boys  were  exceed- 
ingly kind,  bringing  their  blankets  to  wrap  me  up,  contenting 
themselves  to  sleep  at  night  two  under  one  blanket  that  they 
might  spare  me  one. 

While  I was  ill  J.  S.  came  to  see  me  and  take  good-bye. 
His  trial  was  over  and  his  sentence  passed.  He  was  dismissed 
from  the  service,  declared  to  be  unfit  for  it  by  a mental 
incapacity  brought  on  by  the  excessive  use  of  opium.  Whether 
this  may  have  been  so  or  not  I do  not  know.  He  spoke  to  me 
that  day  more  freely  and  sensibly  than  since  we  had  left  New 
Orleans,  but  on  taking  leave  he  fairly  broke  down,  and  I have 
ne^er  seen  him  since.  About  two  days  afterwards,  Joe’s 
sentence  was  read  out  on  parade.  He  had  completely  exhausted 
the  patience  of  the  judge-advocate  by  his  drawling  indifference. 
His  sentence  was  that  he  was  to  be  sent  back  to  his  company, 
and  kept  at  hard  fatigue  duty  and  fed  upon  bread  and  water 
for  a period  of  60  days.  I was  annoyed  at  the  absurdity  of 
the  sentence,  in  sending  the  man  back  to  his  company  for  the 
sentence  to  be  carried  out,  and  I asked  the  captain  how  he 
thoight  it  could  be  carried  out  if  the  company  was  on  the 
march.  He  said  the  sentence  could  not  be  carried  out  at  all, 
but  that  such  a sentence  was  quite  worthy  of  the  uniformed 
foois  from  Richmond,  who  possessed  no  better  judgment.  I 
coidd  now  see  that  the  sinecure  appointments  by  the  War 
Department  had  caused  much  dissatisfaction  amongst  officers  of 
all  classes  in  the  active  service. 

I had  imagined  myself  recovered  from  the  fever,  and  was  up 
aad  moving  about,  but  found  that  I had  got  up  too  soon,  and 
was  seized  with  a sudden  relapse.  I was  taken  to  the  officers’ 
tent,  the  chief  physician  of  the  division  sent  for,  and  every 
care  taken,  but  I soon  became  delirious  and  remained  less  or 
more  insensible  for  several  days. 

When  I came  to  my  senses,  I found  myself  on  a good  bed  in 
a room  by  myself,  and  the  surroundings  led  me  to  fancy  myself 
ba^k  into  civil  life  again,  and  the  exciting  events  of  the  past 
six  months  all  a gigantic  dream.  On  a table  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  room  was  piled  a quantity  of  new  clothing  and 
se\eral  parcels,  but  hanging  on  the  wall  were  my  belt  and  sabre. 


248 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


reminding  me  of  the  truth.  I tried  to  get  up  but  found  that 
I was  too  weak,  and  just  then  the  door  opened  slowly,  and  in 
came  a lad,  E.,  of  our  company.  He  was  glad  when  he  saw 
me  again  in  my  senses.  I asked  if  this  was  an  hospital,  or 
where,  or  what  sort  of  a place  it  was.  He  said  this  was  some 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  camp.  It  was  a great  big  house, 
built  by  some  strange  class  of  people,  but  who  had  deserted  it, 
and  it  was  being  used  for  an  hospital,  to  which  all  the  sick  had 
been  brought  over,  and  he  had  been  detailed  specially  to  attend 
to  me.  Some  few  more  of  the  company  were  here  sick,  some 
men  of  the  regiment  had  died,  and  a good  many  were  still  sick, 
but  the  house  was  big  enough  to  hold  half  of  the  brigade. 

‘‘  But  I see  you  have  got  a new  rig — where  did  you  get 
that  T said  I,  referring  to  a new  suit  of  clothes  I saw  he  had 
got  on.  ‘‘  Oh,”  said  he,  “ you  don’t  know  about  that  yet.  A 
whole  waggon  load  of  things  has  come  from  Baton  Bouge  to 
us  with  new  clothes,  shoes,  stockings,  shirts,  and  all  sorts  of 
presents  and  good  things,  with  letters  and  papers  telling  all 
about  the  battle,  and  these  are  yours  lying  on  the  table.”  I told 
him  to  hand  me  the  letters.  I took  the  first  one,  which  I saw 
was  from  my  partner,  and  was  reading  it  when  the  docbor 
came  in.  He  was  the  same  orderly  sergeant,  now  Dr.  C.,  vho 
had  volunteered  his  assistance  to  the  surgeons  after  the  battle 
of  Oakhill.  He  was  now  regularly  appointed  as  surgeon  of 
the  regiment,  which  was  one  wise  appointment.  He  was  glad 
to  see  the  improvement  in  me,  but  cautioned  me  against 
exerting  myself  just  yet. 

At  this  time,  by  some  new  order  or  regulation,  it  was  made 
known  that  a company  was  entitled  to  three  lieutenants  instead 
of  two ; and  as  our  company  had  at  present  actually  no  lieu- 
tenant, the  first  lieutenant  being  hors  de  combat  from  the  wound 
received  at  Oakhill,  and  the  second  lieutenant  on  detached 
service,  an  order  was  issued  for  the  company  to  elect  another 
lieutenant.  A deputation  came  to  me  to  ask  if  I still  adhered 
to  my  determination.  I still  adhered  to  my  determination  ard 
refused  to  become  a candidate,  but  recommended  Corporal  G., 
who  was  a personal  friend  of  mine,  and  had  distinguished 
himself  at  Oakhill,  and  I was  afterwards  glad  to  find  that  le 
had  been  elected. 

I was  well  taken  care  of  at  this  hospital,  and  began  to 
recover  rapidly. 

When  I had  been  here  about  a week  a sudden  call  was 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


249 


made  for  the  army  to  march  northward  again,  the  Federals 
having  raised  a large  army  in  the  Western  States,  and  General 
Halleck,  with  a force  of  25,000  men,  was  marching  upon 
Springfield. 

Before  marching  the  troops  got  their  pay  in  Confederate 
scrip.  This  was  the  first  pay  they  had  got,  and  my  pay  was 
brought  to  me  by  the  captain. 

I was  declared  by  the  surgeon  to  be  unfit  to  take  the  field 
for  at  least  two  weeks  yet,  so  I was  ordered  to  remain  where  I 
was  for  that  time. 

As  many  of  the  company  as  could  get  away  came  to  visit  me 
before  they  departed  on  their  second  march  into  Missouri. 
They  were  now  in  good  condition,  with  good  warm  clothing, 
shoes,  stockings,  blankets,  and  other  comforts,  which  had  been 
carefully  got  up  for  them  by  their  friends,  and  by  the  ladies  of 
Baton  Rouge  for  such  as  had  no  relations  in  that  place ; and 
the  many  little  presents  and  kind  letters  of  encouragement  and 
commendations  of  their  bravery  had  completely  set  the  boys 
on  fire,  and  they  went  off  on  what  seemed  to  be  a winter 
campaign  with  more  spirit  than  ever. 

Sick  and  tired  as  I was  of  the  service,  I could  not  help 
sharing  in  their  enthusiasm,  and  when  I came  to  open  and 
examine  my  packet  and  found  in  addition  to  the  more  sub- 
stantial necessaries  of  blankets,  clothing,  shirts,  shoes,  and 
stockings,  and  many  little  gifts,  besides  several  afiecting 
letters  from  mothers  who  were  strangers  to  me,  but  thanking 
me  for  the  care  over  their  boys,  I confess  I got  fired  with 
the  same  enthusiasm,  and  became  impatient  to  go  and  join  the 
company.  I mention  this  to  show  the  great  effect  that  a little 
encouragement  from  their  homes  has  upon  volunteer  soldiers, 

In  a few  days  after  the  army  marched  I was  able  to  leave 
my  room  and  take  a look  round  this  strange  building.  It  was 
an  enormous  building  of  wood,  and  seemed  never  to  have  been 
completely  finished.  It  was  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas  and  the  United  States,  and  within  the  “Indian 
Territory.”  It  was  said  to  have  been  built  by  some  peculiar 
sect  of  people,  having  some  singular  belief  or  ideas  of  their 
own,  who  wished  to  establish  a colony  or  settlement,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  they  desired  to  be  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
laws  of  the  United  States  or  the  State  of  Arkansas.  It  was 
now  completely  deserted  by  its  founders,  although  there  was 
evidence  of  its  having  been  partly  occupied  not  long  previous. 


250 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Large  quantities  of  apples  and  dried  peaches  were  lying 
carelessly  on  the  floors  of  some  of  the  lower  rooms,  but  there 
was  very  little  furniture  of  any  kind  except  tables  and  seats,  of 
which  there  were  abundance.  There  were  several  large  halls, 
furnished  with  seats,  as  if  for  teaching,  lecturing,  or  places  of 
worship. 

One  wing  of  this  building  only  had  been  adopted  by  General 
McCulloch  as  an  hospital,  and  in  it  there  were  over  100  men 
of  the  division,  being  the  sick  and  their  attendants. 

In  this  neighbourhood,  being  just  the  border  of  the  Indian 
Territory,’’  there  were  few  full-blooded  Indians;  the  inhabitants 
were  mostly  white  or  “ half-breeds,”  but  were  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Indian  Government. 

The  half-breeds  ” seemed  to  be  a quiet  class  of  people, 
fairly  civilised,  and  possessed  of  an  ordinary  degree  of  intelli- 
gence. Their  houses  were  mostly  log  or  frame  houses  of  more 
or  less  pretentions  according  to  their  means.  They  cultivated 
Indian  corn,  wheat,  oats,  fruit,  and  vegetables ; but  their  atten- 
tion was  chiefly  turned  to  live  stock,  such  as  horses,  cattle,  and 
poultry.  I saw  few  sheep  in  these  parts,  but  great  abundance  of 
pigs,  which,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  ran  wild  in  the  woods. 

These  half-breeds  ” came  daily  to  the  hospital,  the  better 
class  of  them  in  their  spring  waggons,  bringing  for  sale,  deer, 
poultry,  butter,  milk,  eggs,  honey,  and  fruit,  which  they  sold 
cheap  and  found  a ready  market. 

One  of  these  half-breeds  I noted,  whose  dress  and  manner,  as 
well  as  the  superior  appearance  of  his  horse  and  spring  waggon, 
showed  him  to  be  a man  of  somewhat  better  standing  than  the 
generality  of  the  others.  With  this  man  I sometimes  engaged 
in  conversation,  and  found  him  to  be  a man  of  considerable 
intelligence  and  some  education.  He  brought  me  a newspaper, 
which  was  published  in  a small  town  near  his  residence.  One 
half  of  the  paper  was  in  English,  and  the  other  half  in  the 
Indian  language.  This  man  came  to  the  hospital  every  morn- 
ing and  I had  many  conversations  with  him.  He  was  just 
about  half-blood  between  Indian  and  white,  but  his  sympathies 
were  entirely  Indian.  On  his  learning  that  I was  not  an 
American  but  a Scotchman,  he  became  more  interested  and 
spoke  more  freely.  He  said  he  had  read  some  books  about 
Scotland,  which  he  liked  muc]i.  He  offered  to  drive  me  out  to 
his  place  if  I would  go  out  and  stop  a night  with  him,  and  I 
agreed  to  go. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


251 


His  place  was  about  seven  miles  out : a good  substantial 
farm  building,  equal  to  that  of  the  better  class  of  farmers  in 
Arkansas.  His  wife  was  nearly  a full-blooded  Indian,  but  spoke 
English  well.  He  had  several  children,  whom  he  was  taking 
care  to  educate. 

The  house  was  as  well  furnished  as  the  generality  of  such 
houses  are  within  the  States,  and  bespoke  cleanliness  and 
comfort.  Food  they  had  in  abundance,  and  we  had  an  excel- 
lent supper  off  some  roast  venison  and  wild  turkey.  In  the 
room  1 noticed  several  books,  amongst  which  I observed  a 
volume  of  Scott’s  Poetical  Works.”  He  saw  me  looking  at 
it,  and  said  I would  know  that  book.  On  my  replying  in  the 
affirmative,  he  referred  to  the  “ Lady  of  the  Lake,”  which  he 
said  he  greatly  admired,  and  went  on  to  recite  from  memory 
some  parts  of  it  relating  the  meeting  of  Fitz  James  with 
Roderick  Dhu.  He  particularly  admired  that  part  of  the 
poem.  He  compared  the  Gaels  to  the  Indians,  and  the  Saxons 
to  the  whites  in  America,  and  quoting  several  passages,  drew 
some  very  fair  comparisons. 

Just  at  the  time  some  of  his  Indian  friends  dropped  in  on 
an  evening  visit.  He  introduced  me  to  them.  They  nearly 
all  spoke  English  and  were  more  or  less  educated.  He  then 
went  on,  by  way  of  entertainment,  to  explain  to  them  the  story, 
and  quoting  arguments  advanced  by  Roderick  in  favour  of  the 
Gaels  as  analagous  to  what  might  be  advanced  in  favour  of 
the  Indians.  He  became  quite  enthusiastic  and  seemed  to 
draw  the  comparison  so  well  that  I reminded  him  that  although 
I was  his  guest  that  night,  and  that  I expected  in  the  morning 
that  he  would  conduct  me  safely  back  to  the  Confederate  camp, 
I hoped  he  would  not  imitate  Roderick  at  “ Colintogle’s  Ford,” 
or  some  other  ford,  in  demanding  me  to  draw  and  meet  him 
“ man  to  man  and  steel  to  steel.”  This,  as  was  intended, 
produced  a laugh,  and  the  conversation  took  another  turn. 

Of  course  the  war  was  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  conversation 
everywhere,  and  that  became  the  principal  subject.  I found 
the  Indians  generally  in  favour  of  the  South,  not  so  much  out 
of  any  sympathy,  but  the  idea  seemed  to  be,  as  my  friend  said, 
that  if  the  States  were  divided  into  two  nations,  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Indian  nation  would  be  more  strictly  defined,  and 
there  would  then  be  a Northern  nation,  a Southern  nation, 
and  an  Indian  nation.  Some  of  the  others  seemed  to  favour 
the  South  because  they  considered  the  South  respected  the 


252 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Indian  more  than  the  North,  and  did  not  rate  him  so  much  in 
the  same  class  with  the  Negro.  No  greater  insult  could  be 
offered  to  an  Indian  than  to  regard  him  in  any  way  as  com- 
pared to  the  Negro  race,  and  there  is  certainly  but  little  room 
for  comparison. 

I was  very  much  pleased  with  the  general  intelligence  of  the 
company,  to  me  strange  as  it  was. 

The  American  Indians,  no  matter  how  well  civilised  or 
educated  they  may  be,  are  not  by  nature  a talkative  people. 
In  this  company  they  spoke  with  less  restraint  than  I ever 
knew  them  at  any  other  time.  ’Tis  true  it  was  within  their 
own  territory  and  government,  and  within  their  own  homes ; 
but  my  host  spoke  more  than  all  the  others  put  together.  He 
was,  of  course,  the  nearest  related  by  blood  to  the  whites,  and 
had  been  oftener  in  communication  with  the  outer  world.  The  ’ 
night  was  spent  pleasantly  and  all  manner  of  subjects  turned 
over — races,  nations,  governments,  wars,  etc. 

In  the  morning  my  host  showed  me  over  a part  of  his  farm 
and  possessions.  He  had  several  negro  servants  at  work ; 
whether  they  were  slaves  or  not  I did  not  inquire.  His  crops 
had  been  gathered  in,  and  he  had  several  houses  well  stocked 
with  Indian  corn,  and  a good  stock  of  wheat.  He  had  a large 
number  of  horses,  most  of  which  roamed  on  the  prairies, 
several  cows  with  calves,  and  a large  number  of  cattle  on  the 
prairie.  He  had  abundance  of  poultry,  and,  of  course,  his 
share  of  the  public  piggery  in  the  forests. 

We  had  breakfast  of  some  good  bacon  with  eggs,  and  some 
broiled  chickens  and  prairie  hen.  Coffee  was  prepared  on  my 
account,  the  younger  members  of  the  family  having  mush 
(corn-meal  porridge)  and  milk.  For  sugar  they  had  maple 
sugar  and  a syrup  made  from  the  sorgho  plant  or  Chinese 
sugar-cane,  which  grows  here  abundantly. 

After  breakfast  we  drove  back  to  the  hospital,  he  taking,  as 
usual,  his  produce  for  sale.  The  country  abounded  with  game, 
such  as  deer,  wild  turkeys,  prairie  hens ; there  were  also  some 
buffaloes,  but  these  were  now  getting  scarce.  My  host  had  a 
large  number  of  fine  buffalo  robes,  one  of  which  I bought  from 
him,  and  recommended  him  to  bring  in  some  to  the  hospital, 
where  I expected  he  would  find  a ready  market,  which  he  did. 

I found  my  host  was  a sort  of  petty  chief  among  the  Indians. 
He  was  a member  of  some  legislature,  and  transacted  a good 
deal  of  business  with  the  whites  on  behalf  of  his  neighbours. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


253 


I asked  him  about  the  demoralizing  effects  of  drink  among 
the  Indians.  He  said  that  in  some  places  it  was  bad,  but  in 
this  district  and  among  his  tribe  it  was  little  known. 

As  we  drew  near  to  the  hospital,  I asked  him  about  the 
history  of  the  building  and  how  it  came  to  be  erected.  He 
could  not  very  well  tell,  but  it  was  some  kind  of  people  who 
wished  to  establish  a settlement  there.  What  sect  they  were 
of  he  could  not  tell,  but  they  were  not  “Mormons”  or  “Shakers,” 
as  I had  supposed,  but  some  kind  of  Socialistic  brethren,  who 
were  to  be  all  equal  and  to  have  no  rich  and  no  poor,  and 
among  whom  all  things  were  to  be  held  as  common  property — 
free  and  open  to  all.  “ But,”  continued  he,  “ it  did  not  succeed, 
for,  before  they  had  got  the  building  finished,  they  began  to 
quarrel  and  fight  among  themselves,  just  like  at  the  big  Babel 
which  we  read  about  in  the  Bible,  and  everyone  went  away 
his  own  road.” 

He  did  not  think  that  either  Indians  or  whites  had  got  good 
enough  yet  to  live  together  in  that  sort  of  way. 

We  now  arrived  at  the  hospital,  and  I thanked  my  host 
most  sincerely  for  his  kindness  and  hospitality,  hoping  to  be 
able,  when  peaceful  times  came,  to  repay  it,  which  I regret  I 
have  never  been  able  to  do. 

A day  or  two  after  this.  General  McCulloch  came  along  and 
visited  the  hospital.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  front  to  join 
the  army,  and  I believe  had  just  a day  or  two  before  returned 
from  the  front.  Fifty  or  sixty  miles  in  a day  was  nothing  for 
the  general  to  cover,  bad  as  the  roads  were.  I saw  that  he, 
like  the  rest  of  us,  had  got  a new  rig-out,  which  he  stood  much 
in  need  of.  I may  here  say  that  General  McCulloch  never 
wore  any  kind  of  uniform  or  sword.  He  considered  the  latter 
was  only  a useless  ornament,  and  was  an  encumbrance,  and 
added  weight  to  his  horse.  He  carried  only  a field-glass  and  a 
small  rifle,  with  which  he  was  said  to  be  a deadly  shot  from  his 
seat  in  the  saddle.  He  wore  a high-crowned  felt  hat,  and  a 
suit  of  plain  clothes,  the  original  colour  of  which  might  have 
been  a dark  grey,  but  the  last  time  I had  seen  him  they  were 
rather  threadbare.  He  had  now  got  a new  suit  of  the  same 
kind,  and  looked  quite  renovated. 

He  gave  directions  that  in  a few  days  some  waggons  would 
be  going  to  the  front,  when  all  those  recovered  and  fit  for 
service  would  accompany  them,  forming  an  armed  escort  in 
charge  of  an  officer. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


CONVALESCENTS  PROCEEDING  TO  JOIN  THE  ARMY— A PEEP  INTO  THE  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS— A QUICK  TURN  BACK— CRITICAL  POSITION  OF  THE  ARMY — 
A COURT-MARTIAL  SENTENCE  CARRIED  OUT  IN  THE  COMPANY— A BETTER 
POSITION — ACTING  ON  THE  DEFENSIVE — THE  REGIMENT  ADOPTS  A PET — 
THE  PET  VIOLATES  THE  REGULATIONS  IN  RESPECT  TO  HONOUR  DUE  TO 
RANK — RETREAT  OP  THE  ENEMY — WINTER  QUARTERS. 

About  a week  after  the  general’s  visit  two  waggons  with 
some  valuable  stores  on  their  way  to  the  front  stopped 
at  the  hospital  to  pick  up  an  armed  escort.  All  con- 
valescents then  declared  by  the  doctor  to  be  fit  for  duty, 
about  26  in  all,  mostly  young  lads,  got  ready  and  put  their 
baggage  into  one  of  the  waggons.  I was  ordered  to  take 
command  of  the  escort,  and  one  of  the  teamsters,  knowing  the 
road,  was  to  act  as  guide. 

It  was  now  November,  the  weather  had  become  fine  again 
with  slight  frost.  The  air  was  clear,  cold,  and  bracing^  and 
the  journey  was  pleasant.  The  country  was  undulating  and 
hilly,  and  but  thinly  settled.  The  roads  were  rough  and  narrow 
and  passed  through  thin  forests  of  oak,  beech,  and  hickory, 
and,  as  usual  in  that  country,  led  by  many  round-about  ways, 
so  that  in  the  whole  journey,  about  two  miles  would  be  traversed 
to  make  one  in  a straight  line.  The  entire  country  seemed  to 
be  in  possession  of  pigeons,  which  were  to  be  seen  in  millions, 
feeding  upon  the  beech-mast  and  acorns. 

We  at  length  arrived  at  the  place  appointed  for  us  to  halt 
for  the  night.  It  was  a fine  large  building,  consisting 
of  a centre  and  two  wings,  and  I found  that  it  was  here 
the  men  were  to  rest  for  the  night,  while  forage  for  the  horses 
would  be  obtained  at  a farm  close  adjoining. 

The  waggons  were  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  building,  and 
the  horses  taken  out,  whilst  a serious  and  consequential-looking 
gentleman,  with  something  of  the  city  cut  about  him,  and 
seemingly  of  Irish  extraction,  came  up  and  inquired  for  the 
officer  in  command  of  the  detachment.  I was  pointed  out  to 
him.  He  came  up,  and  making  an  attempt  at  a military 
salute,  commenced  to  make  a sort  of  speech,  addressing  me  as 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


255 


captain.  I told  him  to  be  easy,  I was  only  an  orderly 
sergeant.  He  did  not  seem  to  appreciate  the  difference  but 
went  on  with  his  speech.  His  mission  was  to  deliver  to  me 
the  key  of  the  building,  which  was  one  of  the  State  schools — 
a college  he  called  it,  and  he  was  the  head-master  or 
<<  Principal.’’ 

I assured  him  that  I would  see  that  no  damage  was  done  to 
the  property.  There  was  an  outside  house  where  the  boys 
might  do  their  cooking,  and  one  of  the  class-rooms  would  do 
for  our  accommodation,  and  I requested  he  would  remove  from 
it,  and  lock  away  any  movables,  such  as  books  or  other  school 
paraphernalia.  But  there  were  but  few  movables  in  it ; one 
or  two  books  in  a small  bookcase  in  the  corner,  for  which  he 
professed  great  veneration,  and  taking  down  one  of  them — a 
copy  of  “ Virgil,”  he  began  to  dilate  upon  its  beauties.  The 
boys  who  were  now  in  a frolicsome  humour  were  bringing  in 
their  baggage,  and  seeing  the  principal  with  the  book,  became 
noisy,  crying  out  that  they  were  going  to  school  again,  and 
began  to  babble  over  passages  from  Virgil. 

Why,  captain,”  said  he,  “ you  have  got  a regiment  of 
scholars.” 

I told  him  they  were  all  men  of  learning  and  genius,  but  a 
most  unruly  and  unmanageable  lot,  and  suggested  the  use  of 
his  birch  or  tawse  to  keep  them  in  order. 

After  passing  a few  words  in  Latin  with  some  of  the  boys 
he  left,  seemingly  not  desirous  of  going  too  far  into  learned 
questions  with  them. 

On  taking  a survey  of  the  building  I saw  it  had  been  got  up 
at  great  expense,  but  it  seemed  to  be  very  little  used,  although 
it  would  accommodate  several  hundred.  I saw  no  appearance 
of  any  population  in  the  neighbourhood  to  support  such  a 
school. 

The  boys  having  made  fires  in  the  out-house,  which  was  used 
as  a kitchen,  got  their  suppers  cooked,  and  having  set  aside 
the  forms  and  desks  in  the  class-room,  they  lighted  a fire,  and 
each  selecting  a part  of  the  floor  for  their  bed,  deposited  their 
robes  and  blankets.  A guard  was  posted  round  the  house, 
horses,  and  waggons  in  conformity  with  military  rules. 

Shortly  after  this  the  farmer  came  in  to  see  how  he  was  to 
get  paid  for  the  corn  and  forage  which  he  had  supplied  for  the 
waggon  horses.  I told  him  my  orders  were  to  sign  a requisi- 
tion, and  he  would  take  it  to  the  post  quarter-master  and  he 


256 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


would  get  paid.  I gave  him  a requisition  “ form/^  and  told 
him  to  fill  it  up  and  T would  sign  it.  He  said  he  did  not  know 
anything  about  these  things,  neither  could  he  read  or  write, 
and  for  all  the  value  of  the  forage  they  had  got  it  was  not 
worth  the  trouble.  He  sat  a while  and  talked.  He  was 
shrewd  and  intelligent  about  matters  pertaining  to  the  country 
or  his  own  business.  I asked  him  about  this  school,  and  what 
was  the  object  of  putting  up  such  an  expensive  building  where 
there  was  no  population  to  support  it.  He  said  it  was  State 
money  for  school  purposes ; they  had  plenty  of  it,  and 
must  spend  it,  and  it  gave  pickings  and  offices  to  their  friends. 
I thought  that  rather  a strange  explanation,  although  there 
might  be  some  truth  in  it,  but  the  building  did  very  well  for 
our  purpose  in  the  meantime,  and  we  did  not  care  how  it  was 
put  there,  and  we  stretched  ourselves  on  the  floor  and  were 
soon  asleep. 

In  the  morning  we  had  an  early  breakfast,  the  waggons 
were  hitched  up,  and  we  proceeded.  Everything  was  much 
the  same  as  on  the  previous  day,  and  at  night  our  halt  and 
quarters  were  precisely  the  same  as  on  the  previous  night,  in 
another  of  the  State  schools,  similar  in  every  way  to  the  last, 
and  everything  about  the  same,  even  to  the  farmer  coming  to 
get  pay  for  his  forage,  who,  like  the  last,  could  neither''  read 
nor  write.  I did  not  like  this,  as  I feared  that  it  might  be 
thought  that  I had  appropriated  the  forage  without  paying  or 
ofiering  to  pay  for  it.  It  looked  like  robbing  the  farmers,  and 
I was  a little  annoyed. 

“ Confound  it  ! cried  I,  “ what  kind  of  a country  is  this  at 
all  h Every  house  I come  to  is  a great,  large  school  or  educa- 
tional institute,  while  the  devil  a soul  can  I find  who  can  either 
read  or  write.  This  won’t  do ; if  the  general  gets  to  know  of 
it,  there  will  be  a row  at  the  quarter-master’s  department.  I 
must  get  the  requisition  filled  up  in  the  regular  way ; can  you 
get  nobody  to  do  it  ? Go  and  get  your  schoolmaster,  surely 
he  can  read  and  write.” 

“ Well,  I don’t  know  as  he  can,”  said  he,  as  the  boys  roared 
with  laughter.  “You  see,  stranger,”  continued  he,  “them 
there  schools  were  built  to  make  offices.  The  State  has  got 
plenty  of  school  money,  and  they  build  them  schools  with  it. 
The  men  gets  the  job  who  work  hard  for  the  party  that  gets 
elected.” 

“Then  do  I understand,”  said  I,  “that  the  teachers  get 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


257 


their  appointments  through  political  influence,  without  regard 
to  other  qualifications  ? ’’ 

“ Well,  that’s  about  it,  stranger.  They  has  a few  questions 
they  ask  them  about  Latin  and  things,  which  they  knows  how 
to  answer,  but  that  is  about  all  they  know.” 

‘‘And  how  many  children  will  there  be  attending  this 
school  ? ” 

“ Not  more  than  a dozen  when  they  are  all  there.” 

“ But,”  said  I,  “ there  must  be  more  children  than  that  in 
the  neighbourhood,  and  by  the  laws  you  are  compelled  to 
educate  your  children.” 

“ That  is  true,”  said  he,  “ but  you  cannot  compel  people  to 
send  their  children  five  or  six  miles  to  school  through  them 
woods.” 

“ That  accounts,”  said  I,  “ for  so  many  being  unable  to 
read  and  write,  notwithstanding  the  large  schools ; but  would 
you  not  be  better  to  have  smaller  schools,  and  more  of  them, 
so  that  the  children  would  not  have  so  far  to  go  to  school  ? ” 

“ That,  of  course,”  said  he,  “ would  be  better  for  the  chil- 
dren, but  it  would  not  do  for  the  parties  in  power  and  the 
teachers — they  want  big  schools  and  fat  offices.” 

“ Then,”  said  I,  “ you  have  your  children  going  five  or  six 
miles  to  school,  so  that  the  teachers  may  have  fat  offices.” 

“ Well,  that  is  so,  stranger,  but  people  don’t  bother  about 
it ; besides,  most  people  don’t  care  about  sending  their  children 
to  free  schools,  and  if  they  can  manage  it  at  all  they  send  them 
to  private  schools.  I have  three  children  at  a private  school 
at  Bentonville,  where  they  board  with  their  uncle.” 

“ Bather  than  send  them  to  this  school,”  said  I ; “ that  will 
cost  you  something.” 

“ Well,  it  does,”  said  he ; “ but  I won’t  have  my  children  at 
a free  school  so  long  as  I can  pay  for  their  education.” 

“ Well,’’  said  I,  changing  the  subject,  “ what  about  this 
requisition  ? Can’t  you  get  it  filled  up  ” 

“ Oh,  never  mind  it,”  said  he ; “it  would  not  come  to  much 
altogether,  and  it  is  not  worth  the  trouble and  he  took  his 
leave. 

This  man,  like  most  of  the  farmers  in  the  district  at  that 
time,  though  without  education  was  extremely  shrewd  and 
intelligent,  and  seemed  to  be  pretty  well-to-do  in  the  world. 
But  I was  astonished  at  the  way  he  spoke  of  the  educational 
system.  That  was  a subject  I had  never  given  much  attention 

R 


258 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


to,  and  I thought  it  probable  that  in  politics  this  farmer  might 
be  opposed  to  the  party  in  power,  and  perhaps  he  might  not 
be  on  very  good  terms  with  the  teacher  of  the  school;  certainly 
he  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to  education  when  he  was 
taking  such  care,  and  going  to  such  expense,  in  the  education 
of  his  own  children. 

By  daylight  we  were  again  on  the  march,  and  were  now 
turned  northward  towards  Missouri.  We  were  going  by  a 
different  route  from  any  we  had  traversed  before,  and  we  saw 
no  track  of  any  of  the  armies  and  could  learn  nothing  of  what 
was  going  on.  The  people  seemed  now  to  be  terrorstruck  and 
very  reticent ; and  there  were  some  reports  of  the  enemy  being 
near  and  fighting  going  on,  and  the  sight  of  armed  men  seemed 
to  alarm  them. 

About  the  fourth  day  we  heard  cannonading  at  some  dis- 
tance on  our  right,  but  our  orders  did  not  lead  us  in  that 
direction ; but  I thought  it  best  to  be  on  our  guard  against 
scouting  parties  of  the  enemy. 

The  following  day  we  came  to  a station  where  we  were  to 
report.  This  was  a quarter-master’s  station.  The  officer  in 
command  stated  that  our  division  was  about  30  miles  in  front, 
but  he  hesitated  about  allowing  us  to  proceed  further  as  he 
said  he  thought  the  army  was^  falling  back.  I reported  the 
cannonading  we  had  heard  on  the  previous  day.  He  supposed 
that  would  be  a detachment  of  Price’s  army  engaged  with  the 
enemy  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Springfield,  and  he  immediately 
despatched  a courier  to  the  front,  and  ordered  us  to  rest  at 
the  station  for  the  night.  In  consequence  of  orders  which 
came  to  the  station  during  the  night,  all  stores  were  packed  up 
and  waggons  ordered  to  be  ready  to  proceed  to  the  rear.  From 
my  point  of  view  I thought  the  station  to  be  in  rather  a 
critical  position,  and  not  caring  to  undertake  to  fight  the 
enemy’s  army  with  my  26  men  or  be  taken  prisoners,  I pro- 
posed to  go  on  at  daybreak  and  join  our  regiment.  He  said  I 
should  not  move  until  the  return  of  the  courier  with  instruc- 
tions. The  courier  returned  shortly  after  daybreak  with  oMers 
that  all  stores  and  waggons  should  at  once  proceed  to  the  rear, 
the  party  of  convalescents  should  act  as  an  escort  as  far  as  a 
certain  creek,  and  then  report  to  their  respective  corps.  This 
was  not  very  pleasing  to  the  boys,  who  wished  to  get  back  to 
join  their  old  comrades.  However,  the  same  courier  said  that 
the  army  was  returning  by  forced  marches  and  would  be  up 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


259 


with  us  by  to-morrow  evening ; “ that  is/’  continued  he,  in  a 
confidential  tone  to  me,  if  the  enemy  don’t  cut  them  off.” 

I was  pretty  sure  from  the  cannonading  I heard  on  the 
previous  day  that  the  enemy  must  now  be  south  of  us,  and 
that  there  had  been  a mistake  somewhere,  and  from  the  nature 
of  the  orders  we  had  got  we  stood  a very  good  chance,  this 
day,  of  having  the  train  attacked  by  some  of  the  enemy’s 
flying  detachments ; and,  as  we  had  been  bouncing  about  how 
we  could  send  their  cavalry  to  the  right  about,  I told  the 
boys  that  they  would  likely  get  a chance  erelong,  and  they 
had  got  a name  which  they  must  maintain. 

We  kept  up  a strict  look-out  all  day,  but  the  enemy  did 
not  make  their  appearance,  and  on  the  following  day  came  to 
the  creek  mentioned.  Here  we  came  upon  Price’s  army,  and 
that  of  course  covered  the  trains,  and  we  returned  to  join  our 
own  brigade,  which  was  not  far  behind.  We  found  they  had 
camped  about  six  miles  north  of  the  creek,  near  Neosheo, 
after  three  days  of  forced  marches.  We  met  with  a hearty 
welcome,  and  I took  my  place  in  the  company. 

We  remained  in  this  camp  over  a day,  and  I got  to  know 
the  position  of  matters. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  we  understood  to  have  been  that 
Price  should  take  up  a strong  position  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Springfield,  where  he  would  act  on  the  defensive,  and  hold 
the  enemy  in  check  while  McCulloch  would  advance  northward 
and  operate  upon  his  right  flank  and  rear  and  cut  off  his  supplies. 

McCulloch’s  army  had  advanced  northward  as  far  as  Fort 
Scott,  when  he  learned  that  Price  had  been  unable  to  hold  his 
position  at  Springfield,  and  had  fallen  back  towards  Neosheo, 
and  his  (McCulloch’s)  army  was  in  danger  of  being  cut  off. 

McCulloch,  however,  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  He,  with 
his  mounted  troops  under  McIntosh,  hovered  on  the  enemy’s 
right  flank  and  threatened  their  rear,  and  thus  covered  the 
retreat  of  the  infantry  until  they  formed  a junction  with 
Price’s  troops. 

We  were  ordered  to  march  southward  to  a more  advan- 
tageous position. 

As  was  usual  and  to  be  expected  in  those  sudden  movements 
and  counter-movements,  it  was  very  difficult  to  keep  the  troops 
supplied  with  provisions,  and  for  several  days  there  had  been 
nothing  obtained  from  the  general  commissary  department. 
The  country  abounded  with  cattle  and  pigs,  which  were 


260 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


slaughtered  and  cooked  by  the  men,  so  that  there  was  plenty 
of  fresh  meat,  but  there  was  nothing  to  eat  with  it,  there 
being  no  flour  or  meal  to  make  any  kind  of  bread,  and  it  was 
not  the  season  to  get  green  corn.  To  supply  this  deficiency 
the  men  had  recourse  to  dry  Indian  corn  and  wild  pease,  with 
which  the  country  abounded.  These  they  boiled  when  they 
could  get  an  opportunity  and  ate  with  the  fresh  beef  and 
pork,  but  they  found  these  rather  poor  substitutes  for  bread. 

About  the  third  day  after  I had  rejoined  the  company  I was 
at  the  adjutant’s  quarters  handing  in  some  reports  in  the 
morning  before  proceeding  on  the  march.  I there  saw  our 
captain,  the  lieutenant-colonel,  and  the  major  sitting  in  con- 
versation with  the  colonel.  I had  left  my  reports,  and  was 
returning  when  I was  accosted  by  our  friend  Joe,  who  was 
with  the  company  undergoing  the  punishment  inflicted  on  him 
by  the  court-martial.  The  only  punishment  he  was  sufiering 
was  that  he  was  going  along  with  the  company  enjoying  him- 
self in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  the  men,  not  having  to 
carry  a rifle  or  accoutrements,  and  having  no  duty  to  do. 

“ Sergeant,”  said  he  in  his  usual  whining  tone,  “ I am  glad 
you  have  come  back.  The  captain  and  the  acting  orderly 
sergeant  have  been  neglecting  their  duty  and  have  been^  using 
me  very  ill.” 

“ What  have  they  been  neglecting  or  doing  ? ” said  I. 

“ They  have  been  neglecting  to  carry  out  the  sentence  of 
the  court-martial.  You  know  I was  to  get  bread  and  water, 
and  I have  never  got  a bit  of  bread,  and  for  more  than  a week 
I have  never  even  got  a bit  of  flour  to  make  bread.” 

The  afiected  manner  in  which  he  complained  about  the 
sentence  not  being  carried  out  took  me  down  altogether.  I 
did  not  know  whether  to  swear  or  laugh,  but  a thought  struck 
me.  Come  with  me,”  said  I,  “ we  will  see  about  this.”  I 
took  him  to  the  adjutant’s  quarters,  where  the  officers  were 
still  sitting. 

‘‘  Captain,”  said  I,  “ here  is  a man  who  is  upon  that  report 
as  under  arrest.  He  is  undergoing  sentence  pronounced  by  a 
court-martial,  and  he  has  complained  to  me  that  you  and 
Sergeant  T.  have  been  neglecting  your  duty,  in  not  carrying 
out  the  sentence  of  the  court-martial.  Of  course  I have  just 
returned  to  duty,  and  know  nothing  about  it.” 

“ What  is  the  sentence  T said  the  colonel,  in  a serious  and 
stern  tone. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


261 


“ I have  it  here  in  my  book,”  said  I,  and  turning  it  up  read 
— “ That  he  be  sent  back  to  his  company  and  kept  at  fatigue 
duty  and  fed  upon  bread  and  water  for  a period  of  sixty  days.” 

‘‘  And  he  complains  of  it  not  being  carried  out,”  said  the 
colonel. 

“ Yes,”  said  I. 

“ How  was  it  possible  that  such  a sentence  could  be  carried 
out  in  the  company,”  said  the  captain.  “ Bread,  as  under- 
stood in  the  regulations,  we  have  not  seen  since  we  left  New 
Orleans,  and  we  have  been  on  the  march  ever  since  the 
sentence  was  passed,  and  we  could  not  put  him  on  fatigue 
duty.” 

“You  might  have  put  a heavy  knapsack  on  his  back,”  said 
the  lieutenant-colonel. 

“ Then  he  would  have  dropped  out  and  been  left  behind,” 
said  the  captain,  “ and  that  would  just  have  suited  him. 
It  is  not  easy  giving  fatigue  duty  for  punishment  while  on  the 
march.” 

“ That  I allow,”  said  the  colonel,  “ unless  they  are  put  in 
the  rear  with  the  trains,  and  then  they  are  of  no  use,  as  there 
is  no  officer  over  them,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  be  any 
punishment  at  all.” 

“ I would  not  have  minded  that  so  much  if  they  had  carried 
out  the  other  part  of  the  sentence,  and  given  me  the  bread 
and  water,”  said  Joe  in  a most  affected  and  pitiable  tone. 

The  colonel  looked  at  him  as  if  he  would  have  cleaved  him 
with  his  sword,  but  he  restrained  himself. 

“ Oh,  I see,  Joe,”  said  the  lieutenant-colonel,  “if  we  manage 
to  give  you  the  bread,  you  are  quite  willing  to  let  us  off  for 
the  fatigue  duty.” 

“ Oh,  yes ; these  long  marches  are  fatigue  enough,”  said  Joe 
in  a tone  of  concession. 

The  colonel  again  looked  daggers  at  Joe,  and  bit  his  lip. 

“ How  long  has  the  sentence  yet  to  run?”  said  the  colonel. 

“ About  three  weeks  yet,”  said  I,  looking  at  the  date. 

“ I am  sure  I wish  it  was  done,”  said  the  captain. 

“ Oh,  there  is  no  hurry  about  that,  sir,”  said  Joe,  in  a tone 
of  the  greatest  simplicity. 

“ Hold  your  tongue,  you  impudent  scoundrel,”  roared  the 
colonel,  “ I will  soon  give  you  plenty  of  fatigue  duty  and 
bread  and  water  too.” 

“ Thank  you,  sir,”  said  Joe,  in  a grateful  tone  and  withdrew. 


262 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


“Well,  that  is  a cool  scoundrel,”  said  the  colonel. 

The  other  officers  laughed  and  commented  upon  the  absurdity 
of  the  sentence.  The  colonel  allowed  the  sentence  was  absurd, 
but  said  nothing  more. 

The  bugle  now  sounded  to  form  line,  and  I went  to  fall  in 
the  company. 

About  three  days  after  this  we  arrived  at  the  position  we 
were  to  take  up,  and  Joe  was  sent  off  with  a large  detail  of 
men  to  block  up  certain  roads  by  felling  large  trees  so  as  to 
fall  across  them,  and  roll  down  large  stones  upon  them  and 
place  other  obstructions,  so  as  to  impede  the  advance  of  the 
enemy  in  that  direction.  I question  much  if  the  officer  in 
command  got  much  work  out  of  Joe.  It  was  no  doubt 
unquestionable  that  for  ordinary  offences  work  was  always  the 
best  and  most  effectual  system  of  punishment  when  it  could  be 
properly  enforced,  but  that  could  only  be  done  at  a fixed  camp 
or  station  where  useful  labour  was  required  and  some  proper 
authority  existed  to  have  it  enforced,  but  for  such  a sentence 
to  be  carried  out  within  the  company  while  engaged  in  an 
active  campaign  in  front  of  the  enemy  was  simply  ridiculous. 

The  position  now  taken  up  was  a very  advantageous  one. 
It  was  upon  a stony  ridge  where  the  main  road  leading,  to  the 
south  from  Missouri  branched  off — one  road  leading  to  the 
south  and  the  other  branching  off  to  the  eastward,  the  ridge 
forming  the  gusset  between  the  two  roads. 

We  here  waited  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  McCulloch 
evidently  intending  to  rest  on  the  defensive  near  his  base  of 
operations  and  near  his  supplies,  with  his  rear  secure,  while 
the  enemy  would  be  drawn  further  from  their  supplies  and 
their  base  of  operations.  In  this  position  we  could  get  supplies 
easily ; the  camp  was  dry  and  healthy  and  favourable  for  drill 
and  manoeuvring. 

Our  company  had  been  augmented  by  some  new  members 
who  had  come  from  Baton  Rouge  to  join  the  service.  The 
other  companies  in  the  regiment  had  also  been  reinforced  by 
new  volunteers,  and  many  of  the  wounded  had  now  recovered 
and  were  back  to  duty,  and  the  strength  of  the  regiment  was 
considerably  brought  up,  and  company  and  battalion  drill  was 
actively  persevered  in. 

The  enemy  advanced  to  within  1 2 miles,  but  did  not 
seem  inclined  to  attack  us  in  this  position,  while  McCulloch, 
with  MTntosh  and  his  mounted  troops,  kept  hovering  on  their 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


263 


flanks,  cutting  olff  detached  parties.  Almost  every  day  parties 
of  prisoners  and  horses  and  waggons  were  being  brought  in. 

One  day  a fine  capture  of  about  14  waggons,  each  drawn  by 
six  fine  mules,  the  waggons  being  loaded  with  lead,  were 
brought  in  by  McCulloch. 

It  seemed  that  after  the  battle  of  Oakhill  and  while  the 
army  was  passing  through  by  Sarcoxie  in  September  McCulloch 
had  contracted  with  the  owners  of  some  of  the  lead  mines 
there  to  prepa.re  and  supply  him  with  a quantity  of  lead.  This 
lead  had  been  smelted  and  cast  into  pigs  and  stacked  up  ready 
to  deliver  to  the  quarter-master  when  he  should  send  for  it. 

When  the  Federal  General  Halleck  occupied  Springfield  in 
November,  he  got  information  that  such  lead,  the  property  of 
the  Confederates,  stood  there  ready  for  delivery.  Thinking 
this  a splendid  prize,  he  despatched  1 4 of  his  best  waggons  and 
strongest  mules,  accompanied  by  an  escort,  to  bring  away  the 
lead.  Whether  McCulloch  had  been  privy  to  the  information 
given  to  General  Halleck  or  not  I do  not  know,  but  Halleck’s 
waggons  had  been  loaded  up  with  the  lead  and  were  proceeding 
towards  Springfield  when  they  were  surprised  by  McCulloch’s 
mounted  infantry,  the  escort  made  prisoners,  and  the  whole 
train  of  waggons  turned  southward  and  brought  safely  into 
the  Confederate  camp.  Thus  McCulloch  not  only  recovered 
the  lead,  but  14  waggons  and  over  80  fine  mules,  which  was  a 
considerable  acquisition  to  his  transport  department.  Up  to 
this  time  we  had  lost  no  prisoners  to  the  enemy,  therefore  the 
arms  were  taken  from  the  prisoners,  and  they  were  paroled  and 
let  go. 

The  weather  was  now  dry,  cool,  and  pleasant ; drill  being 
steadily  continued,  the  troops  were  in  splendid  condition. 
Hardened  by  the  campaign,  and  having  acquired  a soldierly 
bearing  and  habit  and  some  military  pride,  the  constant  drill 
had  brought  them  up  to  a high  state  of  ejficiency,  and  the 
steadiness  and  regularity  of  their  evolutions  in  company  or 
battalion  drill  would  have  done  honour  to  any  European 
troops,  while  their  fighting  calibre  was  already  proved. 

I could  have  wished  that  some  of  the  military  critics  of 
Europe  could  have  seen  them  at  this  time,  if  just  to  show  them 
something  of  volunteers  and  what  an  efficient  army  can  be 
produced  from  raw  material  in  a few  months,  and  that  a nation 
has  nothing  to  fear  for  its  defence  that  can  raise  an  army  of 
volunteers  and  knows  how  to  treat  them  and  bring  them  into 


264 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  field  without  having  their  enthusiasm  damped  or  their 
progress  obstructed  by  fastidious  deference  to  rank,  official 
formalities,  and  red-tape  restrictions. 

While  here  we  had  an  acquisition  to  our  regiment  in  the 
form  of  an  old  veteran  officer  of  the  French  army,  who  had  to 
leave  France  owing  to  some  political  troubles.  He  had  gone 
to  California,  where  he  had  resided  some  time,  but  on  hearing 
of  the  war  betwixt  the  North  and  South,  his  military  spirit 
was  kindled  and  he  longed  to  join  in  the  fray.  His  sympathies 
were  with  the  South,  but  to  get  to  join  the  Southern  Army 
was  no  easy  matter. 

To  get  round  to  the  Eastern  States  by  the  ordinary  route 
was  expensive,  and  even  if  that  was  accomplished,  the  South 
was  blockaded  round,  and  he  would  not  be  able  to  get  across 
the  lines.  He  therefore  undertook  to  cross  the  country  on 
foot,  passing  through  New  Mexico  and  the  Indian  Territory, 
his  only  companion  being  a faithful  donkey  which  carried  his 
baggage,  consisting  of  a tent  to  shelter  him  at  night  and  a 
small  commissariat ; for  this  animal  he  had  a great  affection 
and  regard  which  were  reciprocated.  Having  learnt  that  in 
the  Army  of  the  West  there  was  a Louisiana  regiment,  he 
concluded  that  there  would  be  some  in  it  of  French  extraction 
who  would  speak  the  French  language.  He  found  his  conjec- 
tures to  be  correct,  there  being  one  company  the  members  of 
which  were  almost  exclusively  of  French  extraction.  This 
company  bore  the  name  of  the  “ Iberville  Greys,  and,  like  our 
own  company,  contained  a number  of  very  young  lads. 

Monsieur  Challon  was  every  inch  a soldier.  He  had  known 
no  other  profession,  and  had  been  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
the  French  army.  He  was  quite  astonished  at  the  efficiency 
of  the  troops,  at  the  precision  and  regularity  of  their  evolutions, 
and  considered  them  to  be  equal  to  any  European  forces,  and 
lie  could  hardly  believe  that  they  had  only  been  seven  months 
in  service. 

Monsieur  Challon  became  an  attache  of  the  “ Iberville 
Greys  ” company,  and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks.  The  rules 
and  customs  of  the  service  not  being  so  rigid  as  to  prevent 
his  fellow-soldiers  making  a little  allowance  for  his  years,  he 
soon  became  a general  favourite.  But  no  less  a favourite  was 
his  companion  “Jason,”  the  donkey,  which  also  became  an 
attache  of  the  company,  and  a general  favourite  with  the 
whole  regiment. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


265 


As  it  was  known  that  many  regiments  in  the  British  army 
had  a general  pet  of  some  kind  in  the  shape  of  a beast  or  bird, 
the  3rd  Louisiana  Begiment  thought  to  emulate  them  by 
having  a pet  in  the  shape  of  this  donkey. 

An  incident  happened,  however,  which  almost  got  poor 
Neddy  into  trouble. 

Our  lieutenant-colonel,  who  was  well  advanced  in  years,  was 
a venerable  looking  old  gentleman.  He  was  of  a homely, 
affable  disposition,  had  a pleasant  humour,  and  liked  at  times 
to  have  a little  joke  with  the  boys,  and  was  very  popular.  It 
so  happened  that  our  new  recruit,  or  attache.  Monsieur  Challon, 
bore  a most  striking  personal  resemblance  to  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  H.,  so  much  so  that  the  one  was  often  mistaken  for 
the  other ; and  as  in  the  time  of  actual  hard  work  within  the 
regimental  camp  there  was  little  or  no  difference  in  dress, 
mistakes,  or  pretended  mistakes,  would  sometimes  occur,  and 
often  when  Monsieur  Challon  would  happen  to  pass  a sentinel 
the  latter  would  salute,  believing  or  pretending  to  believe  that 
it  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  H.  Of  course  a good  deal  of  this 
was  done  in  joke. 

His  companion  “Jason,”  though  possessing  a considerable 
sense  of  duty,  and  withal  a very  intelligent  beast,  yet  was 
still  an  ass ; and  when  the  more  intelligent  lords  of  creation 
mistook  the  identity  of  the  two  individuals  the  same  mistake 
might  be  excusable  in  the  poor  cuddy. 

It  seemed  that  during  the  long  journey  across  the  plains, 
J ason  had  at  certain  times  been  allowed  to  share  the  tent  with 
his  master,  and  to  this  he  had  become  somewhat  accustomed, 
and  regarded  it  as  a matter  of  right.  It  was  therefore  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  when  he  saw  the  lieutenant-colonel  entering 
or  sitting  in  his  tent,  that  he  would  by  mistake  go  in  and  seek 
to  make  himself  quite  at  home. 

Whether  the  lieutenant-coloners  ideas  of  equality  and 
fraternity  would  have  tolerated  this  I do  not  know,  but  it  was 
certain  that  his  rank  prohibited  it,  and  he  immediately 
despatched  a messenger  to  the  Iberville  Greys,  informing  them 
that  a member  of  their  company,  in  violation  of  the  rules  of 
the  service,  in  respect  to  “ honour  paid  to  rank,”  had  been 
intruding  into  his  tent,  and  that  if  such  a breach  of  rules  was 
repeated  he  would  impose  a penalty  on  their  company,  by 
ordering  them  to  detail  a guard  for  special  service  at  his  tent, 
night  and  day,  to  ward  off  intruders.  Of  course  the  class- 


266 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


ing  of  Jason  as  a member  was  intended  as  a little  joke  at  the 
expense  of  the  company. 

A few  days  afterwards  the  lieutenant-colonel  and  the  major 
were  called  off  for  duty  on  some  court-martial  business.  They 
were  about  to  set  off,  and  the  major  had  ridden  up  to  the 
lieutenant-colonel’s  tent,  where  the  latter’s  horse  was  standing 
held  by  an  orderly.  The  lieutenant-colonel  came  out,  but  just 
as  he  was  mounting,  Jason  came  up  and  looked  at  him  with  a 
marked  expression  of  affection  in  his  countenance. 

There  is  your  friend,  colonel,”  said  the  major. 

Confound  the  brute  ! ” cried  the  lieutenant-colonel,  he 
will  be  into  my  tent  again.  Here,”  cried  he,  addressing  the 
orderly,  ‘‘go  down  to  the  Iberville  Greys  and  give  them  my 
compliments,  and  say  that  I order  them  to  detail  a member  of 
their  company  to  stand  guard  over  my  tent  till  further  orders.” 
So  saying  he  and  the  major  rode  off. 

I have  often  heard  it  hinted  that  among  mankind  feelings  of 
brotherly  love  and  affection  were  often  attracted  towards  a 
source  from  whence  some  substantial  benefit  was  likely  to  flow, 
or  from  whence  some  advantage  was  to  be  obtained.  Whether 
this  sentiment  extends  to  donkeys  or  not  I do  not  know,  and 
I would  not  like  to  impute  to  Jason  any  unworthy  motives, 
nevertheless,  there  was  just  the  slightest  grounds  for  suspicions 
of  his  sincerity. 

It  so  happened  that  the  lieutenant-colonel,  not  wishing  to 
trust  too  much  to  the  honour  of  the  forage  purveyors,  kept 
the  corn  for  his  horse  under  his  own  care  in  a bag  in  the 
corner  of  his  tent.  Whether  this  may  have  in  any  way 
influenced  the  affection  of  Jason  for  the  lieutenant-colonel  I 
will  not  pretend  to  say,  but  towards  the  evening  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  the  major  returned.  Having  dismounted  and 
handed  their  horses  to  the  orderly,  they  both  proceeded  to  the 
lieutenant-colonel’s  tent.  On  entering,  their  surprise  may  be 
imagined  when  they  found  Jason  with  his  nose  in  the  bag 
quietly  munching  away  at  the  corn.  On  their  approach  he 
looked  up,  cocked  his  ears,  and  regarded  them  steadily  for  a 
moment,  then  munched  away.  The  lieutenant-colonel’s  anger 
was  now  thoroughly  roused.  When  he  had  given  the  order 
in  the  morning  he  had  given  it  half  in  anger  and  half  in  joke, 
scarcely  meaning  that  it  would  be  carried  out. 

The  major  reminded  him  of  the  order  he  had  given  to  the 
Iberville  Greys  to  detail  a member  of  their  company  to  guard 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


267 


his  tent,  and  of  his  former  caution  to  the  company  in  which 
he  recognised  Jason  as  a member,  and  probably  they  had  con- 
sidered that  they  had  fulfilled  the  order  by  detailing  Jason, 
and  he  laughed  heartily.  The  lieutenant-colonel,  thinking  the 
laugh  was  turned  against  him,  was  for  a moment  nonplussed ; 
but,  to  make  the  best  of  it,  he  called  the  orderly  and  told  him 
to  go  to  the  Iberville  Greys  with  his  order  to  send  a file  of 
men  to  take  one  of  their  members  to  the  guard-house  for 
neglect  of  duty  while  on  guard  in  not  presenting  arms  to  field- 
officers.  The  major,  however,  in  behalf  of  Jason,  palliated  the 
offence  by  maintaining  that  Jason,  by  raising  his  head  and 
cocking  his  ears,  had  made  the  best  substitute  for  a “ present 
arms  ’’  that  it  was  possible  for  a donkey  to  do. 

The  thing  passed  off  as  a joke,  but  Jason  had  to  find  security 
for  his  good  behaviour  in  future. 

Whether  General  Halleck’s  army  was  not  of  the  strength  it 
was  supposed  to  be,  or  whether  he  had  over-estimated  our 
strength,  I do  not  know,  but  they  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to 
attack  us  in  our  position;  while  McCulloch,  knowing  the 
country  and  every  road  and  pass,  with  his  mounted  rangers 
kept  hovering  round  them,  cutting  off  small  detachments, 
capturing  their  supply  trains,  and  even  threatening  their  rear ; 
and  the  winter  now  setting  in,  they  were  compelled  to  retreat, 
McCulloch  following  them  up  and  harassing  their  rear  as  far 
as  Lebanon,  the  whole  Federal  army  falling  back  upon  St.  Louis. 

It  was  not  now  probable  that  the  enemy  would  make  any 
further  advance  before  spring,  and  the  campaign  of  1861 
might  be  considered  at  an  end,  and  the  troops  were  ordered 
into  winter  quarters. 

Winter  quarters  had  been  prepared  at  places  suitable  for 
obtaining  forage  and  supplies  easily,  having  regard  to  other 
advantages  which  might  be  of  importance  for  health,  position, 
or  convenience  of  having  them  called  speedily  together  in  case 
of  emergency. 

Price’s  army  was  stationed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Spring- 
field  and  other  stations  in  the  south  of  Missouri  according  to 
the  means  of  obtaining  supplies.  McCulloch’s  army  was 
similarly  placed  in  the  north-west  part  of  Arkansas.  Our 
regiment  was  stationed  at  a place  called  Cross  Hollows,” 
about  18  miles  from  Fayetteville,  a range  of  wooden  houses^ 
having  been  put  up  for  their  accommodation.  Our  company 
and  the  Iberville  Greys  were  specially  stationed  at  the  town 


268 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


of  Fayetteville  as  a guard  for  that  place,  it  being  now  a depot 
of  supplies. 

Our  quarters  here  was  a large  school  or  educational  institute, 
which  made  one  imagine  that  such  buildings  were  favourite 
places  for  quartering  troops. 

The  facts  regarding  these  buildings  I found  to  be  pretty 
much  as  described  to  me  by  the  old  farmer.  The  sale  of  public 
lands  held  by  the  State  for  educational  purposes  produced  a 
large  revenue.  Hence  the  money  was  expended  for  educa- 
tional purposes,  though  perhaps  not  in  the  most  honourable  or 
judicious  manner.  Large  schools  were  built  without  regard  to 
the  requirements  or  desires  of  the  population,  who  seldom  sent 
their  children  to  the  public  schools  ; and  it  might  be  as  the 
old  farmer  said,  that  teachers  were  appointed  with  large  salaries 
and  nothing  to  do  as  a reward  for  electioneering  and  getting 
the  party  into  power,  while  the  war-cry  of  education  was 
sufficient  to  stifle  any  attempt  at  remonstrance,  and  no  one 
might  dare  to  utter  a word  of  criticism  on  anything  pertaining 
to  the  system  or  the  means  of  carrying  it  out,  be  it  ever  so 
pregnant  with  jobbery  and  corruption.  Tis  true  this  was  in 
an  outlying  district  and  in  a country  but  thinly  settled. 

Fayetteville  was  a town  with  a population  of  about  4,000, 
pleasantly  situated  on  a high  and  dry  position,  surrounded  by 
hills  from  which  issued  many  springs  of  fine  water.  This 
place  being  now  an  army  depot,  there  were  several  of  our 
commissary  and  quartermasters’  stores  here,  and  factories 
established  for  the  manufacture  of  army  waggons,  gun  car- 
riages, ordnance  stores,  ammunition,  etc.  For  these  places  we 
had  to  furnish  a proper  guard,  and  our  only  duties  here  were 
guard  mounting  and  the  usual  company  drill. 

Here  we  passed  about  two  months  as  if  in  garrison  without 
any  stirring  events.  There  were  occasional  rumours  of  an 
armistice  and  talk  of  peace  proposals,  but  all,  I believe,  with- 
out any  foundation.  Here  we  heard  of  the  demand  of  Great 
Britain  in  the  Trent  afiair,  which  for  a time  greatly  exhilar- 
ated the  South,  although  it  ended  pretty  much  as  was 
expected. 

In  J anuary  we  had  some  severe  frost  and  snow,  which  was 
a source  of  great  excitement  to  the  boys,  most  of  whom  had 
never  seen  snow  before,  and  only  very  slight  frosts.  They 
were  soon  sliding  or  attempting  to  skate  on  every  pond  or  dub 
of  water,  and  snowballing  was  indulged  in  to  a great  extent. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


269 


generally  between  the  two  companies,  when  the  battle  of 
Oakhill  was  fought  over  again. 

During  these  two  months,  being  the  dead  of  winter,  there 
was  little  or  no  fighting  in  any  part. 

In  the  Army  of  the  West  there  was  but  little  change. 
There  was  some  talk  of  a correspondence  between  General 
Price  and  the  Confederate  Government,  and  that  he  was 
dissatisfied  at  not  having  been  made  a major-general;  but 
what  had  been  done  we  did  not  learn. 

Colonel  MTntosh  was  made  a brigadier-general,  which  he 
deserved,  and  this  promotion  gave  great  satisfaction.  'No 
promotion  had  been  awarded  to  McCulloch,  and  it  was 
generally  allowed  that  he  was  too  modest  or  too  independent 
to  ask  it. 

One  General  Pike,  of  Arkansas,  had  undertaken,  and  had 
been  commissioned,  to  raise  a brigade  in  Arkansas  and  the 
Indian  Territory. 

The  time  in  winter  quarters  passed  somewhat  idly,  and  as 
Satan  generally  finds  some  mischief  for  idle  hands  to  do,  he 
made  no  exception  in  this  case. 

The  boys  did  get  into  mischief,  although  it  was  not  of  a 
very  serious  character.  It  was  chiefly  confined  to  throwing 
stones  at  pigs  or  poultry,  chasing  cats,  and  similar  depreda- 
tions, for  which  they  were  occasionally  punished.  But  their 
principal  acts  of  mischief  were  directed  against  a woman  who 
lived  in  a rather  dilapidated  house  near  to  quarters. 

This  woman,  who  was  supposed  to  be  a sort  of  grass  widow, 
did  not  possess  youth  or  beauty  to  an  extraordinary  extent. 
She  was  past  the  bloom  of  maidenhood,  and  was  remarkable 
for  a freckled  face,  fiery  countenance,  and  red  hair ; but  what 
she  lacked  in  grace  and  beauty  she  made  up  in  loquacity,  and 
between  her  and  the  younger  members  of  the  two  companies 
there  was  a perpetual  feud.  They  seemed  to  take  delight  in 
hearing  her  scolding,  and  she  seemed  to  take  as  great  delight 
in  being  at  war  with  them.  This  woman  came  almost  daily 
to  the  officers  with  complaints  against  some  of  the  boys  for 
some  damage  done  to  her  fences,  poultry,  cat,  or  something,  and 
she  would  insist  upon  a severe  punishment  being  inflicted.  At 
last  she  despaired  of  getting  any  satisfaction  from  the  company 
officers,  and  declared  her  intention  of  complaining  to  the 
general  himself. 

Accordingly  one  day,  as  General  McCulloch  was  riding  past 


270 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


on  his  way  into  the  town,  we  saw  the  vixen  had  got  hold  of 
his  bridle,  and  by  her  violent  gestures  we  could  see  that  she 
was  lodging  a serious  complaint  against  the  men  in  quarters. 
The  general,  no  doubt  promising  to  see  to  it,  at  last  got  away 
from  her. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  orders  were  given  for  a dress 
parade,  and  therefore  we  expected  there  would  be  some  order 
read  out  in  regard  to  the  subject. 

When  the  parade  was  formed  and  the  usual  evolutions  gone 
through.  General  McCulloch  rode  up  and  said  that  he  wished 
to  say  a few  words  to  the  men. 

We  knew  what  was  coming,  but  we  had  never  heard  the 
general  try  his  hand  at  making  a speech,  and  it  was  soon 
evident  that  speaking  was  not  his  forte. 

He  began  his  address  something  in  the  usual  stereotyped 
fashion  of — “ Third  Louisiana,  I have — you  have — I have 
always  found  you  ready.  You  have  always  been  first  in  any 
daring  act ; you  have  never  failed  me  when  I have  called  upon 
you.  I have  now  once  more  to  call  upon  you,  and  I trust  you 
will  be  as  ready  to  obey,  as  what  I now  wish  you  to  do  is — 
is — well — is,’’  and  he  pointed  in  the  direction  of  the  woman’s 
house,  “ is  just  to  let  that  red-headed  one  alone,”  and  so  saying 
he  galloped  off. 

The  boys  laughed  and  cheered.  The  general  could  have 
said  nothing  to  have  pleased  them  better,  and  therefore  out  of 
respect  for  the  general  they  all  agreed  to  let  the  red-headed 
one  alone. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  A NEW  CAMPAIGN — THE  PROGRAMME  CHANGED — SUDDEN 
CALL  TO  ARMS — UNEXPECTED  ADVANCE  OF  THE  ENEMY — HEAVY  MARCHING 
AND  SKIRMISHING  — THE  SITUATION  DISCUSSED  — SUDDEN  REVERSE  — 
MISMANAGEMENT  SOMEWHERE — POLITICAL  PATRIOTS  NOT  ALWAYS  TO  BE 
TRUSTED  — RETREAT  BACK  TO  BOSTON  MOUNTAIN  — M‘CULL0CH  PURSUES 
HIS  OLD  TACTICS  — A NEW  MAJOR-GENERAL  APPOINTED  OVER  ALL  — ALL 
RETROGRADE  MOVEMENTS  TO  BE  STOPPED— ANOTHER  ADVANCE. 

Early  in  February  rumours  were  prevalent  that  we  wrere  soon 
to  take  the  field  again,  but  this  time  our  campaign  was  to  be 
in  a different  direction.  We  were  to  proceed  to  north-eastern 
Arkansas,  near  the  Mississippi,  and  somewhere  in  the  vicinity 
of  “New  Madrid’’  to  operate  with  the  Army  of  the  Centre  in 
checking  the  advance  of  the  enemy  on  the  Lower  Mississippi 
who  was  now  marching  on  New  Madrid  and  threatening  Island 
No.  10,  and  that  in  a few  days  we  were  to  march,  our  first 
destination  being  Pocahontas.  This  report  turned  out  to  be 
correct,  although  we  were  doomed  never  to  carry  out  the  pro- 
gramme. The  order  seemed  to  have  come  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly. 

The  distance  to  Pocahontas  was  by  the  nearest  route  over 
200  miles.  The  roads  were  very  bad,  and  in  some  places 
almost  impassable.  There  were  many  rivers  to  cross,  which 
in  winter  were  unfordable,  and  if  a spring  rise  took  place  on 
the  Mississippi  much  of  the  country  would  be  overflowed,  and 
it  would  be  difficult  for  an  army  to  act. 

McCulloch  immediately  set  about  arranging  for  his  transport 
and  survey  of  the  route,  and  some  advanced  parties  by  the 
way  of  pioneers  had  already  been  sent  forward. 

We  were  not  certain  whether  Price’s  army  was  to  accompany 
us,  or  whether  he  had  got  his  coveted  major-generalship  and 
the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  West,  which  was  probably 
the  intended  arrangement. 

It  was  getting  near  the  middle  of  February,  and  we  expected 
to  receive  orders  in  a few  days  to  march  for  Pocahontas,  when 
upon  a quiet  Sabbath  afternoon,  while  some  of  the  men  were 
at  church  a courier  galloped  up  in  breathless  haste  with  orders 


272 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


for  the  two  companies  immediately  to  join  the  regiment,  that 
Price’s  army  was  already  across  the  Missouri  line  into  Arkansas, 
retreating  before  the  enemy,  who  had  come  down  upon  him 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  with  an  overwhelming  force  and 
taken  him  quite  by  surprise. 

The  detachment  being  without  a fife  and  drum,  the  bell  of 
the  institution  had  been  used  at  reveille  and  tattoo  and  to  call 
the  men  together.  It  was  now  rung  violently,  and  the  alarm 
soon  spread  over  the  town  and  neighbourhood.  The  men  of 
the  two  companies . were  speedily  got  together  and  equipped 
with  ammunition,  and  within  an  hour  were  on  the  march. 

When  we  had  proceeded  about  15  miles  we  began  to  meet 
the  first  of  Price’s  baggage-waggons  on  their  retreat  south- 
wards. We  tried  to  get  some  information  from  the  waggon- 
drivers  about  this  fearful  scare,  but  we  could  get  no  other 
information  than  that  the  enemy  were  40,000  strong,  and 
more  still  coming.  As  we  advanced  we  met  the  retreating 
waggons  in  still  greater  numbers,  and  all  giving  evidence  of 
the  sudden  appearance  and  great  force  of  the  enemy. 

General  Price,  whose  masterpiece  in  military  tactics  was 
retreating,  had  efiected  his  retreat  in  good  order,  and  it  was 
generally  allowed  that  there  were  few  generals  in  the  service 
who  could  better  conduct  a retrograde  movement  and  fall  back 
in  better  order,  covering  his  baggage  trains,  poor  as  they 
seemed  to  be — and,  indeed,  much  of  it  did  not  appear  to  be 
worth  the  trouble — lean  oxen,  scarcely  able  to  crawl,  old 
waggons,  fit  only  for  firewood,  half-loaded  with  stuff  of  little 
value.  Nevertheless,  Price  seemed  desirous  of  saving  every- 
thing, and  it  was  sometimes  said  by  our  men  that  he  was 
proud  of  his  abilities  in  conducting  a retreat,  and  lost  no 
opportunity  of  displaying  it,  and  was  rather  fond  of  the 
movement.  We  were  somewhat  astonished  at  this  sudden 
and  unexpected  surprise. 

We  marched  all  night  without  halting,  and  at  daybreak 
came  up  with  our  regiment,  which  Avas  already  several  miles 
on  the  way.  We  then  had  a rest  for  about  an  hour,  and  we 
ate  a little  bread  which  we  had  in  our  haversacks,  and  then 
marched  on.  The  roads  Avere  crowded  with  Price’s  waggons, 
and  also  with  numbers  of  waggons  of  the  country  people 
fleeing  southward.  As  the  day  advanced  and  we  proceeded 
we  found  the  country  to  be  in  a great  state  of  alarm. 

People  from  all  quarters,  with  waggons  filled  with  women 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


273 


and  children  and  their  effects,  were  fleeing  from  the  district 
and  hurrying  southwards.  About  nine  o’clock  we  met  the 
advance  of  Price’s  army,  and  then  the  usual  bantering  questions 
began  to  be  asked  and  answered — 

“ What  is  all  this  scare  about  ? ” 

“ Go  on  and  you  will  see.” 

“ What  are  you  retreating  for  ? ” 

“We  have  been  fighting  for  the  last  three  days ; you  can 
now  go  and  take  a hand.” 

The  only  information  we  could  get  was  that  the  enemy  had 
an  overwhelming  force  and  was  driving  everything  before  them. 

About  11  o’clock  we  heard  the  cannonading  and  shortly 
afterwards  the  rattle  of  small  arms.  We  now  drew  ofi*  into 
some  fields  and  prepared  for  action,  while  the  shells  from  the 
enemy  were  flying  thick  and  bursting  over  our  heads.  An 
aide-de-camp  now  came  galloping  up  with  orders  for  the  3rd 
Louisiana  Regiment  to  proceed  quickly  to  the  front,  adding 
at  the  same  time  that  the  enemy  had  captured  one  of  our 
batteries.  We  advanced  at  a double  quick,  and  were  soon 
engaged  with  a body  of  the  enemy’s  troops,  which,  however, 
quickly  fell  back,  and  we  again  deployed  a little  in  advance. 
The  fire  of  the  artillery  and  the  rattle  of  small  arms  all  around 
were  very  heavy,  but  of  the  position  or  order  of  battle  we  could 
form  no  idea.  We  knew  that  it  was  an  attack  by  the  enemy 
on  the  rear  of  Price’s  army,  but  it  was  difficult  to  tell  which 
was  friend  and  which  was  foe. 

A large  body  of  cavalry  was  forming  on  a ridge  at  some 
distance,  which,  though  we  could  see  no  flag,  were  too  well 
appointed  to  be  Price’s  troops,  and  we  soon  saw  that  they  were 
a body  of  the  enemy.  Their  object,  however,  did  not  seem  to 
be  to  attack  us,  as  they  rode  past  at  a safe  distance  and  pro- 
ceeded towards  our  left  in  the  direction  in  which  we  supposed 
our  battery  had  been  captured.  They  seemed  to  be  commanded 
by  a dashing  officer,  who  wore  a red  feather  in  his  cap,  which 
made  him  rather  conspicuous.  We  soon  afterwards  saw  them 
coming  swooping  down  upon  our  left,  not  in  squadrons  but  in 
single  column,  as  if  they  were  going  to  pass  along  our  front  in  a 
parallel  line.  The  defiant  audacity  of  this  seemed  too  incredible 
for  us  to  suppose  they  would  attempt  it,  and  we  looked  on 
expecting  to  see  them  make  some  other  movement.  But  they 
did  not  swerve;  they  went  whizzing  past,  discharging  their 
carabines  as  they  passed,  but  at  such  a distance  as  to  do  no 

s 


274 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


harm,  getting  the  fire  from  the  musketry  of  our  regiment 
without  much  damage. 

“ Out  in  advance,  you  rifles,  and  give  it  to  them  ! ’’  was  now 
called  out. 

Our  company  now  dashed  out  in  front  for  about  50  or 
60  yards  and  delivered  a telling  fire  into  them,  which  sent 
them  ofi*  quickly,  with  a good  many  saddles  empty. 

Their  object  probably  was  to  keep  us  standing  there  and 
prevent  us  getting  forward  to  retake  the  battery  until  it  could 
be  got  away. 

Just  then  we  heard  a loud  cheering  in  front  on  our  left, 
which  we  knew  to  be  from  our  side.  The  cause  of  this  we 
found  to  be  that  some  of  the  guns  which  had  been  captured 
had  been  recovered,  as  well  as  one  or  two  of  the  enemy’s  guns, 
which  had  got  entangled  among  the  trees. 

It  was  now  for  several  hours  a constant  running  backwards 
and  forwards,  forming  line  first  in  one  place  and  then  in 
another,  with  what  object  I did  not  know,  and  a heavy  fire  of 
artillery  and  small  arms,  though  what  losses  were  sustained  on 
cither  side  I never  learned.  The  advance  of  the  enemy  was 
checked  for  the  time  being,  and  Price’s  rear  was  no  longer 
harassed. 

About  four  o’clock  all  was  quiet  again,  and  we  sat  dotvn  to 
rest  and  to  await  orders. 

The  day  had  now  become  bitterly  cold  and  the  wounded 
were  being  brought  in,  and  the  cold  causing  the  blood  to  flow 
freely,  everything  was  daubed  over,  causing  the  surroundings 
to  look  as  if  there  had  been  a terrible  battle  instead  of  a trifling 
afiair  which  never  took  a name. 

What  was  next  to  be  done  was  now  the  question  asked,  and 
we  were  impatient  to  know,  as  we  were  tired,  hungry,  and 
shivering  with  the  cold. 

General  Price  rode  past  dressed  in  the  full  uniform  of  a 
general,  with  a cocked  hat  and  feathers.  It  was  said,  perhaps 
with  some  sneering,  that  he  rode  along  in  that  dress  to  show 
that  he  had  been  made  a Confederate  general,  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  the  Confederate  troops  would  greet  him  with  a cheer 
as  a token  of  their  approval  of  the  appointment.  But  I do 
not  think  he  had  any  such  idea.  The  troops  could  be  in  no 
disposition  to  cheer,  as  anyone  of  common-sense  among  them 
could  not  fail  to  see  that  there  had  been  an  egregious  blunder 
made  and  gross  mismanagement  somewhere. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


275 


We  were  now  ordered  to  march  back  to  Cross  Hollows  and 
take  up  position  there. 

The  distance  back  to  Cross  Hollows  was  about  1 4 miles,  and 
the  road  was  blocked  up  by  Pricers  army,  which  was  retreating 
in  front  of  us,  and  the  march  was  tedious. 

The  head  of  our  company  being  on  the  right  of  the  regiment 
was  the  usual  place  for  military  gossip,  and  generally  the 
adjutant,  with  the  latest  news,  and  one  or  two  of  the  officers 
would  get  up  there  and  discuss  the  situation. 

The  present  state  of  matters  was  now  commented  upon. 
The  first  question  was.  Where  was  General  McCulloch?  Neither 
he  nor  MTntosh  had  been  seen,  and  certainly  had  not  been 
with  us.  They  were  both  away  in  the  entirely  opposite 
direction,  surveying  the  route  and  arranging  for  the  march  to 
Pocahontas,  where  we  had  been  ordered  to  proceed,  and  part 
of  MTntosh’s  brigade  had  already  gone  in  that  direction. 
Then  why  was  this  sudden  advance  of  the  enemy  by  the  way 
of  Springfield  never  suspected  ? Why  had  this  large  force 
come  all  the  way  from  St.  Louis  and  been  concentrating  in 
Southern  Missouri  unknown  to  Price,  who  supposed  himself 
kept  constantly  informed  by  his  faithful  adherents  of  all  that 
was  going  on  in  Missouri?  When  Price  was  surprised  in 
Springfield,  how  was  it  that  the  intelligence  reached  McCulloch’s 
army  at  a distance  of  50  miles,  only  about  10  miles  in  advance 
of  his  sluggish  ox  waggons?  These  were  questions  not  so 
easily  answered.  We  had  heard  that  the  Federal  General, 
Halleck,  was  removed  from  St.  Louis  and  was  going  to  operate 
against  New  Madrid,  and  Island  No.  10,  where  we  were  going 
to  oppose  him. 

The  last  intelligence  we  had  had  through  Price’s  army  was 
that  he  (Price)  had  full  information  of  the  whole  of  Southern 
Missouri;  that  his  scouts  had  been  as  far  north  as  Lebanon, 
and  that  there  the  roads  were  impassable,  and  any  immediate 
advance  of  the  enemy  in  that  direction  was  almost  impossible. 

The  generally  expressed  opinion  now  was  that  Price  had 
relied  upon  the  loyalty  of  the  country  people  to  his  cause,  and 
believed  their  information,  and  that  he  had  been  misled ; and 
as  his  credulity  and  faith  in  such  information  had  already 
caused  much  disagreement  between  him  and  General  McCulloch, 
it  was  now  supposed  that  the  breach  between  them  would  be 
greater  than  ever,  and,  probably.  Price  seeing  what  had 
happened,  and  perhaps  not  believing  that  the  enemy  was  in 


276 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


such  strong  force,  had  tried  first  to  repulse  them  with  his  own 
army,  and  have  all  the  glory  to  himself  without  calling  upon 
McCulloch  for  aid. 

Or,  it  might  be  that  by  orders  from  the  War  Department, 
Price  with  his  army  had  been  left  to  defend  the  western 
frontier,  while  McCulloch  with  his  forces  was  drawn  off  to  join 
the  army  of  the  centre,  therefore.  Price  had  first  tried  to 
repulse  the  enemy  without  calling  upon  McCulloch  for  help. 

In  any  case,  many  thought  that  the  people  of  Missouri  were 
not  so  much  devoted  to  the  Southern  cause  as  Price  had  led 
himself  to  believe. 

Whether  any  of  these  conjectures  were  correct  or  not  I do 
not  know,  but  such  were  the  feelings  and  opinions  expressed 
and  discussed  among  the  men  and  officers  of  our  regiment  on 
the  dreary  march  back  to  Cross  Hollows  that  night.  One 
thing  was  certain,  a sad  disaster  had  happened,  and  the  strong 
positions  to  the  north  of  us  had  been  lost.  Had  we  been  able 
to  get  the  position  we  had  held  in  November,  before  going  into 
winter  quarters,  we  might  have  held  it  against  a superior 
force  and  checked  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  but  that  was  now 
in  possession  of  the  Federals. 

It  was  but  a small  part  of  our  army  that  was  here  with  us. 
Several  regiments  had  been  stationed  at  different  places,  and 
might  take  a day  or  two  to  get  forward.  M^Intosh^s  brigade 
was  supposed  to  be  on  the  way  to  Pocahontas,  and  probably 
50  miles  distant,  and  the  enemy  with  an  overwhelming  force 
right  upon  us.  It  was  near  midnight  when  we  got  to  Cross 
Hollows,  and  a good  many  of  our  company  had  dropped 
behind,  but  came  up  within  an  hour  or  two  afterwards.  The  two 
companies  that  had  come  from  Fayetteville  were  pretty  well 
worn  out  with  hunger  and  fatigue.  The  distance  from 
Fayetteville  to  where  we  covered  Pricers  retreat  was  fully  35 
miles,  so  that  since  hurriedly  leaving  Fayetteville  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  we  had  marched  35  miles  and  manoeuvred  often  at 
double  quick  for  about  five  hours,  and  then  marched  back  14 
miles  without  food  and  without  rest,  except  sitting  down  on 
the  ground  for  a few  minutes. 

We  soon  got  into  one  of  the  winter  quarter  houses,  and  had 
some  rations  cooked  and  eaten,  and  hoping  that  the  enemy 
would  allow  us  till  the  morning  to  rest,  we  were  soon  asleep. 

On  the  first  dawn  of  day  we  were  aroused  by  the  reveille. 
The  boys,  sorely  fatigued,  thought  they  had  not  slept  five 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


277 


minutes,  and  the  morning  was  bitter  cold.  They  rose  shivering 
witli  cold,  and  while  enduring  this  cold  sensation  seemed  to 
have  a kind  regard  for  General  Price,  for  they  wished  him, 
cocked  hat,  feathers,  and  all,  in  the  very  hottest  place  which 
they  could  think  of. 

The  roll  was  called  and  rations  procured,  and  about  seven 
o’clock  the  men  had  got  their  rations  cooked  and  in  their 
haversacks.  The  regiment  was  then  formed  in  line  ready 
to  take  position  and  await  the  advance  of  the  enemy. 

We  had  just  formed  line  when  a tremendous  cheering  was 
raised  all  along  the  front.  We  soon  discovered  this  was 
caused  by  the  arrival  of  General  McCulloch ; he  had  come  from 
a distance  of  over  70  miles.  He  now  rode  along  the  line 
while  the  cheering  was  startling  his  horse.  He  already  knew 
the  nature  of  the  position  at  Cross  Hollows,  and  the  whole  of 
the  troops  were  placed  in  order  of  battle  with  the  artillery 
commanding  the  passes. 

Cross  Hollows  was  a good  position  if  the  enemy  attacked  by 
that  line  of  road,  and  though  we  knew  our  force  to  be  small 
compared  to  that  of  the  enemy,  yet  our  position  was  so  good, 
that  had  they  attacked  us  here  we  hoped  to  have  made  short 
work  of  them, — and  we  certainly  hoped  they  would  attack  us 
and  get  us  out  of  this  dij9S.culty. 

How  M‘Culloch  and  Price  met,  or  how  Price  explained  to 
McCulloch  the  state  of  matters,  I do  not  know,  but  as  soon  as 
McCulloch  had  placed  his  troops  in  position,  he  set  off  with  a 
small  party  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy’s  strength  and  movements. 
It  was  soon  ascertained,  to  our  great  disappointment,  that  the 
enemy  had  not  advanced  from  where  we  had  left  him  on  the 
previous  day. 

It  had  now  come  on  a severe  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  and 
we  were  allowed  to  come  down  from  the  elevated  position  we 
had  taken  up  and  stand  in  the  shelter  of  the  valley,  but  by  no 
means  to  leave  the  ranks.  While  we  stood  in  this  position,  a 
gentleman  came  along  and  had  some  talk  with  us.  He  had 
come  to  meet  General  McCulloch  and  give  him  some  infor- 
mation regarding  the  enemy. 

He  told  us  that  the  enemy’s  forces  were  in  two  divisions 
under  two  generals — General  Curtis  and  General  Siegel ; 
that  the  force  we  had  met  on  the  previous  day  was  that  of 
Curtis,  which  was  about  13,000  strong;  that  of  Siegel,  he 
thought,  was  about  the  same  strength,  but  was  not  with 


278 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Curtis,  and  was  advancing  by  some  other  route,  though  the 
two  armies  were  acting  in  close  conjunction  with  each  other. 
He  added  further,  that  we  might  wait  a long  time  before 
either  or  both  would  attack  us  in  this  position,  but  they  would 
flank  us  by  advancing  by  other  routes.  What  this  man  told 
us  we  found  out  afterwards  to  be  substantially  correct. 

It  had  now  become  bitterly  cold,  and  the  sleet  froze  as  it  fell, 
and  our  clothes  were  frozen  stiff,  and  the  ground  was  covered 
with  ice. 

About  four  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  orders  came  for  us  to 
move,  and  we  were  glad  to  go  anywhere,  as  we  would  have 
been  frozen  to  the  ground,  but  the  news  was  not  reassuring 
when  we  found  that  our  march  was  to  be  backwards  towards 
the  Arkansas  river. 

Our  march  was  much  impeded  by  Price’s  army  and  cumber- 
some trains  which  were  in  front,  and  the  snow  was  now  falling 
so  thick  that  we  could  not  see  10  yards  in  front.  After  a 
tedious  and  toilsome  march  we  reached  Fayetteville  about 
midnight,  where  we  were  to  halt  till  daylight.  Our  company 
soon  found  its  way  into  the  old  quarters  and  rested  there. 
The  rest  of  the  regiment  found  quarters  in  what  had  once  been 
a church,  but  was  now  turned  into  a gun  and  ammunition 
factory. 

It  was  later  next  morning  before  the  reveille  was  sounded — 
a little  longer  time  was  allowed  the  troops  to  rest.  When  the 
regiment  was  formed  we  were  marched  out  and  halted  on  a 
rising  ground  near  the  town.  The  ground  was  thickly  covered 
with  snow  and  the  whole  country  round  seemed  to  be  in  a 
general  conflagration.  The  large  wooden  storehouses  which 
had  been  filled  with  army  supplies  were  in  flames.  On  this 
rising  ground  where  we  stood,  was  piled  up  large  heaps  of 
flour  and  bacon,  and  every  waggon  that  could  be  procured  was 
being  loaded  up  with  stores  to  be  carried  away  south  to  Fort 
Smith,  while  the  remainder  was  heaped  up  on  piles  of  wood 
like  the  sacrifices  of  old,  and  set  on  fire — the  troops  cutting 
off  from  the  best  pieces  slices  of  bacon  which  they  roasted  on 
the  point  of  sticks  (the  use  of  sabres  or  bayonets  for  this 
purpose  being  forbidden),  while  the  heat  dried  their  wet  and 
frozen  clothes.  It  is  astonishing  what  a little  thing  enlivens 
men  amidst  privations.  This  was  an  amusement ; the  ever- 
lasting fun  was  going  on,  they  roasted  slices  of  the  new  bacon 
which  was  really  excellent ; and  for  bread,  they  cut  up  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


279 


bags  of  flour  which  were  lying  about  in  hundreds,  poured  some 
water  on  the  flour  and  kneaded  up  a dough.  This  they 
drew  out  by  its  elasticity,  and  wound  round  a stick  or  ramrod 
in  spiral  fashion,  and  held  it  over  the  flames  until  it  was  baked 
and  then  broke  it  off  the  stick.  Having  eaten  what  they 
could,  and  having  filled  their  haversacks  with  this  kind  of 
bread  and  bacon  streaming  with  grease,  and  had  their  clothes 
dried,  themselves  warmed  and  put  into  good  humour;  and 
having  been  told  by  their  officers  that  they  were  a set  of 
greasy-looking  cannibals,  while  the  officers  themselves  were 
not  a whit  better  looking,  they  were  ordered  to  fall  in,  and  the 
line  of  march  was  taken  up  about  10  o’clock — Price’s  army 
having  moved  on  at  daybreak. 

Thus  the  large  quantities  of  army  stores  which  had  been 
collected  here  throughout  the  autumn  and  winter  were 
destroyed,  to  prevent  them  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

We  continued  our  march  southward,  it  being  understood 
that  we  were  to  take  up  a strong  position  at  Boston  Mountain, 
where  the  whole  force  would  be  concentrated. 

We  had  scarcely  left  Fayetteville  when  the  enemy’s  cavalry 
entered  it.  They  seemed  to  be  a bold  and  audacious  corps, 
and  evidently  wished  to  display  some  dash.  Our  boys  were 
longing  to  get  a shot  at  the  chap  with  the  red  feather,  and  it 
seemed  once  or  twice  that  day  that  they  would  have  got  their 
wish,  for  they  followed  upon  our  rear  and  appeared  on  our 
flanks.  We  gave  them  a few  shots,  but  they  contrived  to  keep 
pretty  well  out  of  range. 

This  day  turned  out  like  the  previous  one,  heavy  snow 
and  sleet  came  on,  and  a most  disagreeable  night  was  passed. 
Without  tents,  and  the  sleet  falling,  we  could  only  huddle 
round  the  camp  fires,  but  sleep  or  rest  was  impossible.  Next 
day  was  equally  bad,  and  it  seemed  as  if  winter  was  just 
setting  in  with  greater  severity  than  ever,  the  roads  were  also 
in  a dreadful  condition,  being  cut  up  by  the  trains  and  the 
number  of  waggons  transporting  stores  southward.  However, 
this  evening,  we  got  to  our  destination. 

We  now  got  tents,  and  a camp  was  formed  and  a position 
taken  up  commanding  the  road  leading  to  the  south,  and  which 
we  could  hold  against  a force  of  double  our  numbers. 

It  was  obvious  that  McCulloch  was  going  to  adopt  the 
tactics  he  had  done  with  Halleck’s  army  in  the  autumn,  which 
was,  that  he  would  station  his  main  army  in  a strong  and 


280 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


well-protected  position,  where  it  could  not  be  flanked  by 
numbers,  while  with  flying  detachments  he  would  hover  round 
the  enemy,  and,  knowing  the  country  better,  would  cut  off* 
outlying  detachments,  worry  and  harass  them  by  cutting  off 
their  supplies,  and  otherwise  weaken  them,  while  he  would  use 
every  endeavour  to  augment  and  strengthen  his  own  forces, 
and  ultimately  be  able  to  advance  and  compel  the  enemy 
either  to  retreat,  or  attack  him  in  his  strong  position.  In  this 
he  seemed  likely  to  succeed. 

What  had  been  the  2nd  brigade  at  Oakhill,  in  which  was 
the  mounted  infantry,  was  now  called  the  1st  brigade,  and 
under  command  of  late  colonel,  now  Brigadier  General 
M‘Intosh.  The  brigade  in  which  our  regiment  was,  was  now 
called  the  2nd  brigade,  and  was  under  command  of  Colonel 
Hebert  of  our  regiment  who  was  acting  as  Brigadier,  McCulloch 
acting  as  a major-general  over  the  whole  division. 

A few  days  after  we  had  taken  up  this  position,  McCulloch 
brought  into  the  camp  several  army  waggons  with  supplies  of 
the  enemy,  and  over  a hundred  prisoners.  He  and  MTntosh 
continued  to  make  raids  on  the  enemy  with  great  success,  and 
almost  every  day  some  prisoners  or  spoil  was  brought  in. 
The  enemy’s  dashing  cavalry  seemed  not  to  have  been  wishful 
of  trying  their  strength  with  them. 

In  the  meantime  our  forces  were  fast  increasing,  numerous 
detachments  were  coming  from  different  parts  of  Arkansas 
and  Texas,  and  a large  number  of  men,  as  “ emergency  men”  had 
joined  by  a rule  which  had  been  recently  adopted.  By  this 
regulation  or  order,  men  were  allowed  to  volunteer  into  the 
service  for  a short  time  on  a particular  emergency  such  as  a 
battle,  after  which  they  would  be  allowed  to  leave. 

A large  number  of  such  men  from  Fayetteville,  Bentonville, 
and  other  places  had  joined  and  were  being  drilled  in  to  be  of 
service,  and  I may  say  that  the  system  did  very  well,  and 
these  men  were  of  considerable  assistance.  ’Tis  true  a great 
many  of  them  had  been  already  drilled  less  or  more  as 
Volunteers. 

General  Pike  was  also  said  to  have  raised  a brigade  of 
between  3000  and  4000  men,  of  whom  over  1000  were  Indians, 
and  Price’s  army  was  greatly  augmented,  and  he  had  got 
several  batteries  of  artillery,  so  that  it  was  now  supposed  that 
we  would  have  fully  20,000  men  in  all,  and  it  was  expected 
that  2000  or  3000  more  would  yet  be  added. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


281 


McCulloch  had  become  very  popular  in  Arkansas  and  Texas, 
and  his  troops  had  great  confidence  in  him,  and  men  were 
joining  his  army,  but  the  great  evil  was  the  disagreement 
between  him  and  Price.  This  seems  chiefly  to  have  arisen 
from  Price  paying  too  much  attention  to  what  McCulloch 
seemed  to  regard  as  idle  gossip  of  the  country  people. 

Price,  supposing  that  he  knew  something  of  the  enemy’s 
strength  of  position  from  information  obtained  through  such  a 
source,  would  advocate  certain  movements ; while  McCulloch, 
acting  on  experience,  would  place  no  confidence  on  any 
information  obtained  through  Price. 

When  we  had  been  in  this  camp  for  a little  over  a week  we 
learned  that  a major-general  appointed  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment at  Richmond  was  coming  to  take  command  over 
McCulloch  and  Price  and  the  whole  Army  of  the  West. 

Everyone  was  now  on  the  qui  vive  to  find  out  who  our  new 
general  was  to  be.  We  soon  learned  that  it  was  to  be  General 
Van  Dorn,  but  all  that  could  be  learned  of  him  was  that  he 
had  been  formerly  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States, 
but  of  his  services  in  the  present  war  there  was  no  record.  I 
asked  my  friend  P.,  the  drum-major,  if  he  knew  anything  of 
him.  He  said  he  knew  him  to  be  a major  of  cavalry,  but  he 
did  not  know  much  about  him,  and  he  would  ask  C.,  who  had 
served  under  him.  C.,  who  was  about  as  careless  a fellow  as 
was  in  the  regiment,  replied  that  he  did  not  know  much  about 
Van  Dorn  as  an  officer,  but  he  knew  him  to  be  an  excellent 
hand  at  playing  poker.  I asked  what  sort  of  an  officer  he  was 
compared  to  MTntosh.  He  said  that  as  an  officer  he  was  not 
fit  to  enter  a ten-acre  field  with  MTntosh.  Of  course  there 
was  not  a great  deal  of  importance  to  be  attached  to  this 
account,  as  C.  was  rather  an  easy-going  fellow ; still  it  was 
not  very  satisfactory  when  it  was  known  that  he  was  to  be 
over  MUulloph  and  the  whole  Army  of  the  West.  Others 
said  he  had  the  name  of  being  a bold  and  dashing  officer,  and 
that  when  he  came  he  would  do  wonders  and  revolutionise 
matters,  which  turned  out  to  be  the  case. 

MUulloch  continued  to  bring  in  fresh  batches  of  prisoners 
almost  every  day,  and  a farm-house  and  large  barn  adjoining 
were  filled  with  them.  They  were  quite  contented,  and  con- 
versed freely  with  us  on  the  general  questions  of  the  war  and 
politics,  but  it  was  impossible  to  draw  out  of  them  anything  in 
regard  to  the  strength  or  position  of  their  army.  As  the 


282 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


feeding  of  those  prisoners  was  a heavy  drag  upon  our  resources, 
and  the  enemy  as  yet  held  none  of  our  men  as  prisoners  to  be 
got  back  in  exchange  for  them,  they  were  disarmed,  paroled, 
and  let  go,  care  being  taken  that  they  could  give  no  important 
information. 

In  the  meantime  the  enemy,  who  had  advanced  to  the  south 
of  Fayetteville  and  to  within  15  miles  of  our  position,  finding 
us  so  strongly  posted,  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  attack  us 
in  this  position,  and,  being  so  worried  by  McCulloch’s  man- 
ceuvres  and  constant  raids  and  attacks,  they  had  fallen  back 
towards  the  Missouri  boundary  and  taken  up  a defensive 
position. 

It  was  now  a common  saying  among  our  men  that  they 
hoped  when  Yan  Dorn  came  that  he  would  just  leave  “Ben” 
(General  McCulloch)  alone  and  he  would  soon  have  the  whole 
of  the  enemy’s  army  brought  in  by  small  lots  at  a time. 

But  this  was  not  to  be.  General  Yan  Dorn  telegraphed 
from  a distance  to  stop  all  retrograde  movements,  and  that  the 
tactics  must  now  be  to  advance,  still  pressing  on  to  victory, 
accompanied  by  some  very  warlike  expressions. 

There  was  no  general  order  of  this  read  off  on  parade ; we 
only  saw  it  in  the  newspapers,  for  which  we  believe  it  was 
intended  more  than  for  the  army. 

We  considered  it  looked  very  well  on  paper,  and,  though  it 
had  not  been  read  off  to  us,  it  would  no  doubt  be  read  in  many 
a drawing-room,  where  it  would  be  better  appreciated. 

About  the  26th  or  27th  of  February,  Yan  Dorn,  who  had 
arrived  at  Fort  Smith,  sent  forward  by  telegraph  an  order  for 
the  troops  to  march  on  the  1st  of  March,  the  men  to  carry  10 
days’  cooked  rations  in  their  haversacks,  and  sixty  rounds  of 
ammunition. 

The  idea  of  ten  days’  cooked  rations  to  be  carried  in  their 
haversacks  rather  astonished  the  men,  and  they  wondered  if 
new  haversacks  were  going  to  be  issued,  as  it  was  known  that 
most  of  the  men  could  easily  eat  in  one  day  all  that  could  be 
crammed  into  their  haversacks.  However,  they  were  told  to 
make  themselves  easy  on  that  point,  for  it  would  be  something 
new  for  the  commissary  if  he  could  furnish  more  than  three 
days’  rations,  and  they  might  rest  assured  that  their  haver- 
sacks would  hold  all  the  rations  they  would  get. 

It  seemed  evident  to  the  more  thoughtful  that  their  new 
general  was  giving  his  orders  from  a distance  off  a book  or 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


283 


map,  without  much  knowledge  of  the  position  or  condition  of 
his  army,  the  strength  or  position  of  the  enemy,  or  the  nature 
of  the  country  in  which  his  army  was  going  to  operate. 

It  may,  however,  be  said  in  advance,  with  regard  to  Van 
Dorn,  that  he  was  no  bejewelled,  gloved,  or  carpet  officer,  and 
whatever  he  might  lack  in  the  way  of  forethought,  prudence, 
or  military  skill,  he  certainly  did  not  lack  courage  or  personal 
daring. 

As  was  expected,  the  commissary  could  barely  furnish  three 
days’  rations,  and  that  of  a very  poor  kind.  This  was  prepared 
and  put  into  the  men’s  haversacks,  and  what  ammunition  there 
was  was  served  out,  although  it  did  not  amount  to  60  rounds 
to  each  man ; and  on  the  2nd  of  March,  1862,  the  Confederate 
Army  of  the  West  left  its  position  on  Boston  Mountain  to 
press  on  to  victory,  as  Yan  Dorn  had  expressed  it. 

Great  need  it  had  to  press  on  or  it  would  itself  be  pressed. 
No  trains  accompanied  it  with  tents  and  provisions ; the  so- 
called  ten  days’  rations  were  all  in  the  men’s  haversacks  about 
enough  for  two  days ; and  the  weather  was  a continuance  of 
blinding  snow  and  sleet.  It  was  necessary  that  we  should  get 
the  battle  over  as  soon  as  possible. 

Our  total  force  was  about  24,000  men.  The  enemy’s  force 
was  supposed  to  be  about  26,000  men,  but  of  course  the  men 
were  prompted  by  the  braggadocial  cry  of  “ What  of  that,  one 
Southerner  is  equal  to  three  Northerners,”  and  I must  say  that 
I was  a little  amused  when  I heard  that  same  saying  neatly 
retorted  back  on  them  not  many  days  afterwards. 

The  first  day’s  march  was  towards  Fayetteville.  The  snow 
and  sleet  were  blinding,  and  the  roads  in  an  awful  condition. 
We  halted  for  the  night,  but  of  course  anything  like  sleep  was 
out  of  the  question. 

The  second  day  the  weather  was  somewhat  better,  and  the 
sun  shone  out  a little.-  In  the  early  part  of  the  day  we  heard 
a tremendous  cheering  among  Price’s  troops  in  our  rear,  and 
we  were  made  aware  that  General  Yan  Dorn  was  riding  up 
along  the  line.  As  he  came  up  nearer  to  us,  the  cheering 
became  less  enthusiastic,  and  as  he  passed  our  regiment  an 
attempt  was  made  to  get  up  a cheer,  but  it  resulted  in  a 
failure. 

The  third  day  the  weather  continued  good,  the  sun  shone 
out,  and  the  men’s  clothes  and  blankets  got  dried.  This  night 
some  corn  meal  was  served  out  to  the  troops,  but  as  they  had 


284 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


no  means  of  cooking  it  in  any  way,  it  was  of  little  use.  This 
night  we  were  fortunate  in  getting  a good  place  to  bivouac,  in 
a wood  where  there  was  abundance  of  dry  leaves,  and  our 
overcoats  and  blankets  being  now  dry,  we  nestled  among  the 
leaves  and  were  soon  asleep.  This  was  the  first  night’s  sleep 
we  had  got  since  leaving  Boston  Mountain. 

In  the  morning  when  we  woke  up,  we  found  it  close  and 
warm,  but  what  was  our  astonishment  when  we  saw  we  were 
all  covered  over  with  snow.  I had  considerable  dijficulty  in 
getting  the  boys  up.  They  had  on  lying  down  rolled  them- 
selves up  in  their  blankets  and  covered  themselves  over  with 
leaves,  which  in  turn  got  snowed  over,  and  then  they  felt  quite 
snug,  and  could  not  or  did  not  want  to  hear  the  call. 

We  were  now  in  the  vicinity  of  the  enemy,  and  the  army 
closed  up  and  moved  slowly ; and  in  the  morning  an  aide-de- 
camp  passed  to  the  rear  for  an  ambulance  as  General  Yan 
Dorn  had  been  taken  very  ill.  This  was  exceedingly  unfor- 
tunate just  on  the  verge  of  battle,  and  this  battle  going  to  be 
fought  entirely  upon  his  express  command  and  under  his  own 
directions  and  responsibility,  and  against  the  advice  of  one 
whom  we  considered  his  best  general.  The  aide-de-camp  was 
also  inquiring  for  a doctor. 

‘‘  Get  a bottle  of  whisky  for  him,”  cried  the  graceless  0.  in 
our  company,  ‘‘  and  that  will  put  him  all  right.” 

In  the  meantime,  the  army  moved  slowly  and  cautiously, 
and  it  was  evident  that  no  one  knew  the  enemy’s  position, 
and  the  nature  of  the  country  was  such  that  a large  army 
might  be  within  a quarter  of  a mile  and  completely  hid  from 
sight. 

The  Confederate  army,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  con- 
sisted of  two  divisions.  The  first  division,  of  Missouri  troops 
under  General  Price,  numbered  about  11,000  men;  the  second 
division  was  under  General  McCulloch,  and  numbered  about 
13,000  men.  This  latter  division  was  made  up  of  three 
brigades.  The  first  brigade,  in  which  were  all  the  mounted 
infantry,  was  under  General  MTntosh ; the  second  brigade 
was  under  Colonel  Hebert;  the  third  brigade,  called  Pike’s 
Indian  brigade,  was  under  General  Pike.  McCulloch’s  division 
had  18  pieces  of  artillery;  Price’s  division  had  about  the  same 
number,  besides  some  mountain  howitzers.  The  whole  army 
was  under  command  of  General  Yan  Dorn. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 


BATTLE  OF  PEA  RIDGE— DEATH  OF  M‘cULLOCH  AND  MCINTOSH. 

On  the  day  mentioned,  the  5th  of  March,  General  Van  Dorn 
being  sick,  and  the  position  of  the  enemy  not  well  known, 
M‘Culloch  went  to  the  front  with  MTntosh’s  brigade  to 
reconnoitre.  Some  firing  was  heard  that  day,  but  nothing  of 
importance  was  done. 

On  the  following  day  (the  6th)  our  brigade  (the  second) 
was  ordered  to  follow  up  and  support  the  first  brigade  and 
the  artillery,  which  was  going  to  make  an  attack  on  Siegel’s 
division. 

I must  say  that  I never  got  what  the  Americans  would  call 
the  “ hang  ” of  this  battle,  and  I do  confidently  believe  that 
no  one  else  ever  did,  whatever  way  reports  may  have  pre- 
tended to  place  it.  It  was  a mass  of  mixed  up  confusion  from 
beginning  to  end. 

About  11  o’clock  cannonading  was  heard  in  front,  and  we 
were  ordered  to  hurry  up.  When  we  got  up  the  firing  had 
ceased.  Siegel’s  advanced  guard  had  fallen  back. 

About  one  o’clock  firing  was  heard  again ; this  time  heavier, 
and  we  closed  up.  The  fire  of  small  arms  was  now  heard,  and 
the  order  was  given,  “ Forward,  boys,”  and  we  charged  up  and 
drove  the  enemy  from  their  position ; but  they  got  off*  with 
their  guns,  leaving  one  broken  axle  and  a good  many  dead  and 
wounded  on  the  ground.  The  order  was  now  given  to  follow 
up  quick  and  not  allow  them  to  get  their  guns  into  position 
again,  but  they  seemed  to  have  had  their  next  position  already 
marked  out.  It  was  very  plain  that  Siegel,  or  whoever  com- 
manded this  force,  was  a very  able  officer  by  the  way  in  which 
he  fell  back.  The  broken  axle,  which  had  been  struck  by  a 
shot  from  one  of  our  guns,  we  presumed  must  have  been  either 
the  axle  of  a gun  or  of  a limber  waggon,  and  they  had  under 
our  fire  before  retreating  either  replaced  it  by  a new  one  or 
taken  the  carriage  to  pieces,  packed  it  on  to  a caisson,  and 
carried  everything  off*  except  this  relic,  which  they  left  lying 
on  the  road,  as  much  as  to  say,  “You  can  have  that.” 


286 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


About  three  o’clock  they  made  another  stand,  and  this  time 
the  affair  assumed  more  the  shape  of  a general  battle.  They 
appeared  to  make  a stand  in  full  force,  and  deployed  on  both 
sides  of  the  road  with  their  right  and  left  wings  extended  out 
into  the  cover  of  the  wood. 

More  of  our  division  was  brought  up,  including  some  of 
Pike’s  Indians.  These  were  sent  into  the  thicker  wood  against 
the  enemy’s  right  wing,  while  we  attacked  them  on  the  left 
and  centre.  The  battle  was  pretty  hot  here  for  some  time. 
Siegel’s  force  was  mostly  composed  of  Germans,  and  whether 
on  the  right  they  got  scared  by  the  Indians,  who  kept  up 
hideous  yells  and  war  whoops,  I do  not  know,  but  they  gave 
way  and  fell  back  on  the  centre. 

Siegel,  remembering  Oakhill,  had  an  eye  to  his  guns,  and 
took  care  to  have  his  artillery  well  supported.  Evidently  not 
wishing  to  risk  a general  battle  until  he  joined  Curtis,  he  now 
limbered  up  quickly  and  fell  back  in  good  order  with  all  his 
guns.  It  was  supposed  that  this  was  only  a part  of  his  division. 

We  still  followed  him  up.  MTntosh  galloping  past  cried 
out,  “ Now,  you  Louisiana  boys,  I must  have  those  guns  to- 
night.” But  Siegel  seemed  to  dangle  them  before  us,  as  much 
as  to  say,  “ Don’t  you  wish  you  may  get  them.” 

About  two  miles  beyond  this  there  was  a shallow,  rapid 
running  river,  or  large  creek,  through  which  the  road  led  by  a 
ford,  where  the  water  was  about  a foot  deep.  There  was  a 
wooden  bridge  a little  above  the  ford,  but  it  had  been  set  fire 
to  by  Siegel’s  men  after  they  had  crossed.  Siegel  had  left  a 
rear  guard  and  one  or  two  guns  to  sweep  the  ford  and  annoy 
us  in  crossing.  We  were  ordered  to  get  down  the  bank  to  the 
side  of  the  river,  keeping  out  of  range  of  the  artillery,  and  be 
ready  to  cross  as  soon  as  our  own  artillery  was  brought  up  to 
cover  us.  The  artillery  was  soon  up,  and  we  were  ordered 
to  cross  at  once,  the  smoke  from  the  burning  bridge  partly 
obscuring  the  ford.  The  boys  quickly  got  off  their  shoes  and 
stockings. 

‘‘  What  is  that  you  are  doing  ? ” cried  the  major.  Who  ever 
heard  of  men  stripping  off  their  shoes  and  stockings  to  wade 
across  a stream  in  front  of  an  enemy’s  fire  ? ” 

“ Better  be  shot  than  have  wet  feet  this  cold  night,  major.” 

“ Oh,  who  cares  for  wet  feet  ? ” cried  the  major. 

“We  will  soon  make  up  the  time  in  marching  with  dry 
feet,”  was  the  reply,  which  was  true. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


287 


By  this  time  they  were  nearly  all  over,  carrying  their  dry 
shoes  and  stockings,  and  soon  had  them  on  at  the  other  side. 
The  major  had  entered  the  water  to  cross,  when  a parting 
discharge  of  grape  from  one  of  Siegel’s  guns  swept  the  ford, 
but  doing  no  damage  except  to  the  major’s  horse,  which  was 
struck  by  a grape  shot  on  the  knee.  At  the  same  moment  it 
was  cried  out  that  Siegel’s  two  guns  were  off  at  full  gallop. 
The  recall  was  now  sounded,  and  we  had  to  strip  our  shoes 
and  stockings  and  recross  again.  The  major’s  horse  stood  still 
in  the  middle  of  the  stream  and  could  not  move,  and  the  major 
cried  out  to  some  of  them  to  come  and  carry  him  ashore,  but 
the  boys  began  to  laugh  and  retort  on  him  by  saying,  “ Who 
cares  for  wet  feet  ? Try  it,  major.”  The  water  was  certainly 
nipping  cold  and  it  was  freezing  hard.  At  last  one  stout 
fellow  carried  the  major  ashore,  and  one  or  two  of  them  did 
the  last  office  for  the  poor  horse  by  sending  balls  through  his 
head,  and  he  fell  dead  in  the  stream.  I confess  I felt  more 
pity  at  seeing  the  poor  horse  shot  down  as  he  cast  an  imploring 
look  on  his  friends,  than  at  all  the  slaughter  I had  seen  that 
afternoon. 

I could  not  follow  the  rest  of  the  movements  throughout 
that  evening.  There  was  heavy  firing  in  other  parts  all 
round,  and  we  were  marched  and  countermarched  in  many 
directions,  while  horse,  foot,  and  artillery  were  moving  hither 
and  thither.  Siegel  had  no  doubt  joined  Curtis  to  prepare  for 
the  general  battle. 

After  marching  back  a good  long  way  in  the  direction  we 
had  come,  we  came  to  a halt  at  an  open  space  where  a lot  of 
dead  trees  lay  on  the  bank  of  a gravelly  creek.  It  was  now 
near  midnight,  and  some  large  fires  were  burning,  and  some 
prisoners  who  had  been  taken  were  sitting  round  them  chatting 
away  with  some  of  our  men. 

It  was  rather  amusing  to  hear  the  conversation  at  such  a 
time  and  under  such  circumstances ; the  subject  of  the  present 
campaign  of  course  being  tabooed.  It  was  something  like  the 
following : — 

Confederate. — Do  you  know in  Chicago*?  He  is  a 

cabinet-maker;  he  used  to  have  a place  at  the  corner  of 
Street. 

Federal. — Oh  yes,  I know  him  very  well ; he  is  in  the  same 
place  still.  I have  a brother  who  worked  for  him.  One  of  his 
sons  went  down  South  about  two  years  ago. 


288 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Confederate. — Yes,  that  was  Stephen  ; I knew  him  in  New 
Orleans  ; he  joined  the  New  Orleans  Cadets  and  went  off  with 
the  2nd  Louisiana. 

Federal. — He  has  other  two  sons — one  of  them  is  with  us, 
the  other  is  a lieutenant  in  the  5th  Illinois,  and  I think  is  in 
Halleck’s  army. 

Confederate. — Does  D.  and  H.  still  carry  on  that  foundry 
business  there  ? 

Federal. — Yes.  D.  is  dead,  but  one  of  his  sons  carries  on 
the  business;  another  of  his  sons  is  in  the  7th  Illinois — a 
captain,  I think. 

Confederate  No.  2. — Do  you  know  old , that  has  a large 

gasfitting  establishment  in  St.  Louis.  I think  it  is  in 

Street  ? 

Federal  No.  2. — Yes ; some  of  his  sons  went  down  South  a 
while  ago. 

Confederate. — Yes ; two  of  them  came  down  and  started  a 

branch  business  in as  agents  for  their  father.  One  of 

them  is  now  in  our  regiment — that  is  D. ; but  B.  went  North 
in  the  spring  and  could  not  get  back,  as  the  blockade  had  been 
put  on  at  Cairo. 

Federal.— WqII,  I knew  them  both.  B.  joined  the  7th 
Missouri,  and  is  now  with  us  in  Curtis’s  division. 

Confederate. — Are  you  not  of  Curtis’s  division  ? 

Federal. — No ; we  are  of  Siegel’s  (but  a shake  of  the  head 
here  gave  warning  that  that  was  approaching  the  tabooed 
subject). 

An  order  now  came  to  move  on  again.  ‘‘  Prisoners  this 
way.”  The  prisoners  were  to  be  sent  to  the  rear,  and  we  were 
to  march  to  some  other  position. 

The  prisoners  rose  up,  put  on  their  heavy  overcoats,  while 
they  and  our  men  heartily  shook  hands  at  parting,  bidding 
good-bye  as  follows  : — 

Federals. — Well,  good-bye,  boys ; good  luck  to  you,  and  take 
care  of  yourselves. 

Confederates. — All  right ; we  will  try  to  do  so ; these  are 
fine  comfortable  greatcoats  of  yours  for  this  weather. 

Federals. — Yes ; they  are  very  warm,  and  need  it  for  this 
weather ; good-bye ! And  away  they  went  in  charge  of  a 
guard. 

As  we  moved  away  I could  hardly  help  reflecting  on  the 
manner  of  the  conversation  I had  been  hearing  and  what  a 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


289 


strange  thing  was  war,  and  particularly  such  a war  as  this, 
although  that  night  I had  not  much  time  to  moralise,  but  I 
have  often  thought  of  it  since.  Here  was  a man  in  our  com- 
pany who  had  a brother  who  a year  ago  had  been  a member  of 
our  company,  but  was  now  in  the  army  opposed  to  us,  and 
with  which  we  were  to  engage  in  deadly  conflict  within  a few 
hours.  Hundreds  of  instances  there  were  of  the  same  kind, 
and  this  not  through  any  feeling  or  sentiment  of  their  own  or 
sympathy  with  either  side,  but  merely  owing  to  the  location 
where  they  happened  to  be  sojourning  at  the  time. 

Cold,  hungry,  and  fatigued  we  moved  sullenly  along,  some 
of  the  lads  almost  sleeping  on  their  feet.  We  stopped  at  a 
place  where  a strip  of  wood  came  to  a point.  I forget  what  it 
was  like.  Here  some  big  fires  were  made,  and  we  were  ordered 
to  rest  till  daylight. 

All  manner  of  reports  were  now  afloat.  Aides-de-camp 
flying  past  stopped  to  tell  us  that  the  fighting  for  the  day  had 
been  entirely  in  our  favour,  and  that  we  had  sorely  crippled 
the  enemy ; that  Price  had  got  in  their  rear,  and  that  they 
were  cutting  a road  through  the  woods  to  efiect  their  escape. 

“ Then  let  them  go,’’  cried  some  of  the  boys  who  were 
huddling  by  the  fires  vainly  trying  in  the  cold  to  sleep. 

“ On  no,”  would  be  the  answer ; “ we  have  now  got  in  their 
rear  and  completely  hemmed  them  in,  and  we  will  capture  all 
their  supplies,  and  they  have  a large  stock,  and  before  this 
time  to-morrow  you  will  have  more  provisions  than  you  know 
what  to  do  with.” 

It  is  true  we  were  in  their  rear,  but  they  were  also  in  our 
rear,  and  they  had  the  advantage  of  being  in  a strong  position, 
while,  from  the  rough  and  wooded  nature  of  the  country  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  find  out  how  their  forces  were  placed  or. 
in  what  way  we  could  attack  them  to  advantage. 

At  daylight  some  waggons  came  up  with  flour  and  corn-meal, 
but  only  a very  small  quantity  for  each  man,  and,  as  we  had 
no  cooking  utensils,  the  men  had  to  do  the  best  they  could 
with  their  small  allowance  by  rolling  it  into  dough  upon  a 
stone  and  sticking  it  into  the  hot  ashes  of  the  fires,  and  eating 
it  half-raw,  half-burned,  and  mixed  with  cinders.  It  was- 
certainly  scandalous  that  the  commissaries  in  these  flying 
marches  and  without  camp  equipage  never  tried  to  provide  the 
men  with  any  kind  of  ready-made  bread  or  biscuit. 

Shortly  after  daylight,  scattered  cannonading  was  heard  in 

T 


290 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


diJSerent  directions,  and  occasionally  a pattering  of  small  arms, 
and  we  could  see  parties  of  horsemen  scrambling  on  the  tops 
of  the  numerous  small  hills  through  the  trees  and  brushwood, 
amongst  whom  we  could  often  recognise  the  figures  of  General 
McCulloch  and  General  M‘Intosh.  This  firing  and  recon- 
noitring seemed  to  have  been  intended  to  draw  the  fire  of  the 
enemy’s  artillery  and  show  their  position,  but  they  were  too 
’cute  to  reply. 

About  ten  o’clock  we  were  ordered  to  move  forward  on  the 
same  road  that  we  had  fought  upon  the  previous  day.  As  we 
marched  along,,  some  small  parties  of  mounted  infantry  came 
out  of  the  woods  in  exceeding  bad  humour.  They  had  been 
engaged  with  small  detachments  of  the  enemy,  which  had 
driven  them  back,  and  they  were  crying  out  for  reinforcements. 
Of  course  we  could  give  tliem  no  satisfaction,  and  our  men 
only  laughed  and  derided  them,  and  cried  to  go  back  and  pitch 
in  again.  After  proceeding  about  three  miles  in  this  direction 
a halt  was  called,  and  we  soon  saw  the  1st  brigade  which  had 
been  in  advance,  returning,  and,  of  course,  we  were  to  counter- 
march and  follow  them.  Just  as  the  last  of  the  1st  brigade 
had  passed,  I observed  General  McCulloch  riding  behind  them 
accompanied  by  two  aides-de-camp.  There  was  something  in 
the  general’s  countenance  which  betokened  no  good.  I never 
saw  such  a change  in  a man’s  face.  He  seemed  haggard  and 
worn  out  with  fatigue,  but  beyond  this,  there  was  in  his 
countenance  a mixed  expression  of  melancholy,  despair  and 
anger,  which  he  seemed  to  try  to  hide,  for,  as  he  rode  past  he 
nodded  to  our  captain,  and  said  in  an  easy  manner,  “We  are 
going  to  take  ’em  on  the  other  wing.” 

But  it  was  easy  to  read  through  his  countenance  the 
expression — “Well,  I will  do  it,  but  I know  it  is  going  to 
destruction.” 

“We  have  got  them  all  penned  up  now,  boys,”  said  one  of  the 
aides,  “ and  you  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  shoot  them  down.” 

“ Tell  that  to  the  marines,”  said  one  or  two  voices,  after 
they  had  passed. 

Such  prattling  was  thrown  away  upon  our  men ; they  were 
now  too  old  to  mind  such  chafi*;  they  saw  how  things  were, 
and  they  could  read  in  the  general’s  countenance  that  there 
was  something  wrong. 

“Where  is  that  Major-General  Damdborn,  or  whatever 
they  call  him cried  one;  “is  he  still  sick ” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


291 


‘‘  Oh,  no,”  cried  another,  “ I hear  he  is  all  right  again,” 

“ They  must  have  got  him  that  bottle  of  whisky  I prescribed 
for  him,”  said  the  graceless  C. ; “I  bet  you  he  and  old  Price 
were  playing  poker  all  last  night.” 

It  had  been  whispered  all  round  that  since  Van  Dorn  had 
taken  command,  he  had  taken  part  more  with  Price  than 
McCulloch,  and  had  become  very  friendly  with  the  former. 
Of  course  Price’s  political  influence  in  Missouri  counted  for  a 
good  deal  at  Richmond. 

Shut  up,  C.,”  cried  another,  “ I take  up  for  Price,  let  him 
be  what  he  may,  he  will  not  neglect  his  duty,  or  the  care  or 
interests  of  his  army ; and  if  he  is  fond  of  retreating,  he  is  not 
backward  in  attacking  again,  and  if  he  gets  his  army  into  a 
fix,  he  can  always  manage  to  get  them  out  of  it  again.” 

“ And  who  is  to  get  us  out  if  we  get  into  a fix  ? ” 

‘‘  Een.” 

‘‘Yes,  if  he  lives.” 

There  was  something  ominous  in  this  last  expression,  whether 
it  arose  from  the  strange  expression  they  had  observed  in  the 
general’s  face  or  not,  I know  not,  but  it  had  the  efifect  of 
damping  the  conversation  and  the  men  marched  along  in 
silence. 

What  was  said  about  General  Price  was  strictly  true.  He 
exercised  great  care  over  his  army,  and  though  a man  advanced 
in  years,  he  was  most  zealous  and  indefatigable  in  his  duties, 
and  possessed  considerable  ability. 

M‘Culloch  had  certainly  not  been  well  treated,  he  had  been 
superseded  in  his  command,  and  placed  in  a subordinate 
position,  and  the  army  which  he  had  so  well  managed  and  led 
to  victory,  reduced  to  wretched  starvation,  and  blindly  ordered 
to  advance  against  a superior  force,  strongly  posted  and 
whose  strength  or  position  it  was  impossible  to  find  out. 

We  now  began  to  find  that  the  enemy  was  posted  on  that 
ridge  forming  the  gusset  where  the  road  leading  from  Spring- 
field  down  into  Arkansas  branched  off.  It  was  an  extensive 
ridge,  extending  for  several  miles,  and  might  be  called  an 
assemblage  of  small  hills  and  ridges.  It  was  called  “Pea 
Ridge,”  I presume,  from  the  number  of  wild  peas  which  grew 
in  the  district. 

It  was  somewhere  on  this  ridge  that  we  had  been  posted  in 
November,  while  acting  on  the  defensive  against  Halleck’s 
army  but  things  were  now  reversed.  The  enemy  held  the 


292 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


advantageous  position,  and  was  acting  on  the  defensive,  and 
we  were  the  attacking  party. 

The  ridge  may  be  described  as  something  like  a triangle — 
the  apex  pointing  northwards,  and  terminating  at  the  road 
which  led  to  Missouri,  and  along  the  base  were  rocky  hills  and 
deep  gullies,  while  along  the  two  sides  were  roads  branching 
off  from  the  Missouri  road  at  the  point,  one  leading  to  the 
eastward,  which  was  called  the  Elkhorn  road,  from  an  inn  or 
tavern  of  that  name ; the  other,  leading  southward  I think, 
was  called  the  Bentonville  road,  though  of  that  I am  not 
certain. 

Up  this  latter  named  road  we  had  driven  the  enemy  on  the 
preceding  day,  and  returned  back,  and  advanced  again  in 
the  morning,  and  were  now  marching  back  as  MUulloch  had 
said  “ to  take  ’em  on  the  other  wing.” 

At  about  four  miles  from  the  point,  the  distance  across  the 
ridge  between  the  two  roads  might  be  about  four  miles,  and 
about  four  miles  from  the  point,  on  the  Bentonville  road,  there 
was  between  the  road  and  the  ridge  a stretch  of  level  cleared 
fields,  which  indented  into  the  wooded  ridge,  leaving  the  high 
ridge  about  three  miles  broad.  Of  course,  this  is  only  a very 
rough  survey,  and  may  not  be  very  accurate. 

Across  the  ridge  at  this  part,  the  enemy  were  supposed  to 
be  posted  fronting  northwards.  Their  right  rested  on  the 
Elkhorn  road,  and  their  left  on  the  level  fields  between  the 
ridge  and  the  Bentonville  road,  their  rear  being  protected  by 
rocky  hills  and  deep  gullies,  while  the  ridge  in  front  of  them 
being  in  most  places,  rugged,  rocky,  and  wooded,  was  quite 
impassable  for  horse  or  artillery ; and  their  whole  force  was 
entirely  hid  from  view  by  the  hills  and  woods,  and  would  have 
to  be  felt  for. 

The  plan  of  attack  seems  to  have  been  that  Price  should 
attack  them  on  their  right  from  the  Elkhorn  road,  while 
MUulloch’s  division  should  attack  them  on  the  left  from  the 
Bentonville  road. 

Near  the  edge  of  the  ridge  on  the  Bentonville  road  we 
halted,  and  here  the  three  brigades  were  drawn  up,  not  in 
order  of  battle,  but  in  reserve,  ready  to  act.  Here  was  the 
1st  brigade,  under  General  MTntosh.  The  2nd  brigade,  under 
Colonel  Hebert,  acting  brigadier ; and  the  3rd  brigade 
under  General  Pike,  with  three  batteries  of  artillery  of  six 
guns  each — the  whole  division  under  General  MUulloch. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


293 


About  noon,  orders  were  given  to  the  2nd  brigade  to  strip 
for  battle,  and  I heard  the  words  of  the  general  as  he  gave 
the  orders  to  Colonel  Hebert : — 

“You  shall  advance  with  your  2nd  brigade,  and  attack  their 
left  wing,  and  as  soon  as  you  have  drawn  their  fire,  you  shall 
liave  support  speedily — and  good  support  too.” 

The  1st  and  the  3rd  brigades  and  the  artillery  were  ordered 
to  be  in  readiness  to  advance  and  support  the  2nd  brigade. 
Blankets  and  topcoats  were  thrown  off,  and  we  advanced  to 
the  attack.  General  McCulloch  and  General  MTntosh  accom- 
panying the  brigade  with  the  object,  no  doubt,  of  observing 
the  position  of  the  enemy  after  the  fire  opened,  and  seeing 
where  the  1st  and  3rd  brigades  could  be  brought  in  to  advan- 
tage. 

We  advanced  by  a sort  of  a farm-road  between  two  rail  fences 
which  led  across  the  level  fields  towards  the  wooded  ridge.  In 
these  fields  there  had  been  wheat  grown  which  had  been 
reaped  in  the  autumn,  and,  as  was  usual  in  those  countries, 
the  wheat  had  been  threshed  in  the  field,  and  the  straw  left 
in  large  piles  on  the  ground.  We  had  got  about  half  way 
across,  when  a battery  which  had  been  hid  by  one  of  those 
piles  of  straw  upon  our  right,  opened  on  us  with  grape  and 
canister.  The  order  was  given  never  to  mind  but  to  push  on 
at  double  quick — the  generals  would  attend  to  the  battery. 
Fortunately,  the  ground  upon  the  side  of  the  road  next  the 
battery  was  something  above  the  level  of  the  road,  and  the 
rail  fence  considerably  marred  the  grape  shot.  The  men  bent 
their  bodies,  trailed  arms  and  ran  along  at  double  quick. 
They  did  not  require  to  be  told  to  close  up ; that  grape  shot  had 
a most  disagreeable  whistle  as  it  passed  within  a foot  or 
two  of  their  ears,  which  was  incentive  sufficient. 

We  reached  the  wood  without  much  damage,  where  we 
formed  again.  But  just  as  we  had  done  so,  we  heard  a loud 
whooping  and  a great  rattle  of  small  arms  behind  us  in  the 
direction  of  the  battery.  The  battery  was  soon  silenced,  and 
a loud  hurrah  showed  the  guns  had  been  captured  by  the 
Indians,  and  our  astonishment  was  still  greater  when  we  saw 
the  whole  battery  with  limber  waggons  and  caissons  of  ammu- 
nition in  flames.  It  seemed  that  the  Indians  had  a great 
horror  of  artillery,  and  being  commanded  by  their  own  chief, 
(Standwattie,  I think  was  his  name)  when  they  got  possession 
of  the  guns,  they  determined,  like  the  old  woman  at  Oakhill, 


294 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


to  “ burn  the  pesky  things.”  So,  gathering  the  wheat  straw 
they  piled  it  round  the  gun  carriages  and  set  fire  to  it,  and 
thus  the  carriages,  ammunition  chests,  and  everything  of  wood 
was  burned,  the  guns  falling  useless  on  the  ground,  while  the 
explosions  of  the  ammunition  and  bursting  of  the  shells  made 
the  Indians  clear  oJff,  thinking  the  things  were  possessed  by 
the  Evil  One,  and  that  even  fire  would  not  destroy  them. 
This  was  so  much  done,  one  of  the  enemy^s  batteries  destroyed, 
but  we  had  to  move  cautiously  against  an  unseen  foe,  who  was 
doubtless  lying  in  wait  and  ready  to  receive  us.  The  leaves 
were  not  entirely  off  the  trees,  but  we  could  see  through  the 
woods  much  better  than  in  summer.  The  ground  was  very 
rough  and  covered  in  many  places  with  large  boulders,  hillocks, 
and  fallen  trees. 

We  proceeded  very  cautiously  in  line.  The  generals  seemed 
to  be  trying  to  discover  something  of  the  enemy  from  the  tops 
of  little  eminences.  A few  shots  from  their  artillery  at  a 
distance  in  another  direction  were  falling  amongst  us,  but 
nothing  could  be  seen  of  their  main  body.  The  wood  was 
now  getting  thicker,  and  we  could  not  see  more  than  fifty 
yards  in  front. 

Suddenly  something  like  a tremendous  peal  of  thunder 
opened  all  along  our  front,  and  a ridge  of  fire  and  silioke 
appeared  close  before  us,  and  the  trees  round  us  and  over  our 
heads  rattled  with  the  bullets,  as  if  in  a heavy  hail-storm.  Our 
boys  quickly  returned  the  fire.  Colonel  Hebert,  who  had 
been  in  front  on  horseback,  quickly  sprang  to  the  rear,  he 
being  caught  between  the  two  fires. 

The  order  was  now,  “ Close  in  upon  them,  boys — forward  ! ” 
We  knew  the  Federal  arms  were  better  than  ours  for  distant 
fighting  and  our  object  was  to  keep  them  at  short  range. 

A desperate  battle  now  commenced.  We  kept  advancing 
and  they  falling  steadily  back.  Their  fire  was  very  heavy,  but 
strange  to  say  we  did  not  seem  to  sufier  much  from  it.  We 
had  advanced  past  where  they  had  first  opened  fire,  and  their 
dead  lay  thick. 

They,  knowing  the  superiority  of  their  arms  over  ours,  kept 
falling  back  to  keep  us  at  long  shot,  while  we  followed  them 
up  to  keep  at  close  range.  This  was  a considerable  advantage 
to  us.  Our  advancing  upon  them  kept  us  enveloped  in  the 
dense  smoke,  while  their  falling  back  kept  them  in  the  clear 
atmosphere  where  they  could  be  easily  seen.  Our  men  squatted 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


295 


down  when  loading,  then  advanced  and  squatted  down  again, 
and  looking  along  under  the  smoke  could  take  good  aim  ; while 
the  enemy,  firing  at  random  into  the  smoke,  much  of  their  shot 
passed  over  our  heads. 

This  fighting  continued  for  over  an  hour,  and  we  must  have 
advanced  fully  half-a-mile,  when  we  saw  the  open  field  in  front 
of  our  right,  but  the  wood  continued  still  in  front  of  our  left. 
This  was  caused  by  us  coming  out  to  the  corner  of  the  open 
fields,  which  were  here  bounded  by  the  woods  on  two  sides  at 
about  a right  angle.  Here  the  enemy  quickly  disappeared 
from  our  right  front,  but  they  had  scarcely  done  so  when  a 
sweeping  fire  of  grape  and  canister  was  poured  upon  us  from 
a battery  in  the  corner  of  the  field.  This  for  a moment 
staggered  our  men,  but  in  a state  of  fury  they  rushed  forward 
on  the  guns.  Four  of  the  guns  the  enemy  succeeded  in  getting 
away,  but  two  were  captured.  We  closed  up  towards  the 
wood  in  front  of  our  left,  the  firing  having  now  ceased,  and 
the  enemy  had  disappeared. 

Here  we  found  that  a large  body  of  the  enemy  had  been 
posted,  and  the  battle  here  had  been  severe  ; the  ground  was 
covered  with  their  baggage,  and  the  dead  lay  thick.  They  had 
fallen  back,  and  we  had  gained  their  camp  and  position.  The 
position  was  one  of  some  advantage,  being  bounded  on  one 
side  by  a deep  gully,  across  which  the  enemy  seemed  to  have 
retreated. 

We  thought  we  had  gained  one  victory  at  least,  and  the 
men  sent  up  a loud  cheer.  It  was  answered  by  a still  louder 
cheer  of  defiance  from  the  wooded  mountain-side  in  front  of 
our  left  beyond  the  gully,  showing  that  the  enemy  was  there 
in  strong  force,  having  fallen  back  to  a stronger  position  where 
it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  attack  them  with  our  present 
force ; and  we  began  to  realise  that,  as  far  as  we  saw,  we  were 
but  a small  force  and  in  considerable  confusion  or  mixed  up, 
and  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  movement  towards  forming 
us  into  order  again,  and  inquiries  began  to  be  made  as  to 
where  were  the  officers,  when  the  sound  of  a bugle  was  heard 
in  the  rear  on  our  right.  The  cry  at  first  was  that  this  was 
the  1st  and  3rd  brigades  coming  up  to  our  support;  others 
again  said  it  was  no  bugle  of  ours,  it  was  a cavalry  bugle  and 
must  be  the  enemy.  But  where  were  all  our  officers  ? was  the 
question  asked  all  round — not  a field-officer  of  any  kind  was  to 
be  seen.  But  here  come  our  reinforcements,  and  all  eyes  were 


296 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


turned  towards  a body  of  troops  advancing  in  the  woods  on 
our  right  and  rear  from  the  direction  in  which  we  had  heard 
the  bugle,  and  the  way  in  which  we  expected  our  reinforce- 
ments to  come. 

The  cry  of  The  enemy  ” was  next  called  out  as  they  opened 
fire  upon  us,  and  we  found  we  were  attacked  in  the  rear,  and  the 
enemy  had  got  between  us  and  the  other  part  of  our  division. 

The  battle  was  renewed  again  and  we  were  fighting  in  a 
reversed  position  and  facing  back  in  the  direction  we  had 
come.  After  some  fighting  the  enemy  was  driven  back  at  this 
point  and  retired  into  the  wood,  but  only  to  return  to  the  attack 
again  and  again.  They  were  scarcely  driven  back  when  an 
attack  was  made  on  our  left  and  front  by  a party  of  the  enemy 
which  had  recrossed  the  gully,  seemingly  with  the  object  of 
recapturing  the  two  guns,  but  after  a pretty  hard  fight  they 
were  repulsed. 

But  where  were  our  officers  ? The  highest  officer  to  be  seen 
was  a captain.  Where  was  Major  T.  ? Where  was  Colonel 
Hebert  who  was  in  command  of  the  brigade  ? Where  were  all 
the  other  colonels  and  field-officers?  We  knew  some  of  them 
were  down,  but  surely  not  all.  Ho  one  could  give  any  account. 
The  captain  of  our  company  was  missing,  the  first  and  second 
lieutenants  were  not  with  the  company,  the  first  not  having 
recovered  from  his  wounds,  the  second  on  detached  service. 
There  was  now’  only  Lieutenant  G.  with  the  company ; he  was, 
liowever,  brave  and  active.  He  and  I consulted  with  the  one 
or  two  line  officers  of  our  regiment  that  were  now  to  be  seen 
on  the  state  of  matters,  but  they  or  no  one  could  give  any 
explanation  of  why  we  w’ere  thus  placed  or  what  we  were  to 
do.  We  had  evidently  cut  through  the  centre  of  the  enemy^s 
left  wing  and  were  between  two  fires. 

The  fearful  cannonade  and  distant  roll  of  small  arms  far 
upon  our  left  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge  told  that  heavy 
fighting  was  going  on  there,  but  why  we  should  be  left  here, 
surrounded  by  the  enemy  without  support  and  without  orders, 
was  what  we  could  not  understand.  Where  were  the  1st  and 
the  3rd  brigades  that  should  have  followed  and  supported  us  ? 

Our  conversation  was  cut  short  by  another  attack  of  the 
enemy  upon  our  right  and  rear,  this  time  more  determined, 
but  they  were  again  driven  back. 

The  situation  now  looked  desperate,  and  what  was  to  be 
done  ? It  was  now  certain  that  we  were  not  going  to  be 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


297 


reinforced.  Some  cried  out  that  we  must  stand  here  and  sell 
our  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  The  two  captured  guns  stood 
in  the  field.  It  was  now  very  unlikely  that  we  would  long  be 
able  to  hold  them,  and  it  was  suggested  that  we  should  spike 
them,  and  then  try  and  cut  our  way  back  through  the  enemy 
on  our  right  and  rear;  but  we  could  find  no  spikes  in  the 
limber  waggon,  and  the  small  end  of  a ramrod  was  driven  into 
the  touch-holes  and  then  broken  off  and  driven  in  tight  with 
round  shot. 

This  was  scarcely  done  when  a battery  opened  on  us  from  a 
point  far  away  on  our  right  and  rear,  and  some  round  shot  came 
tearing  amongst  us.  This  battery  seemed  to  be  placed  near 
where  we  had  started  from  at  noon,  and  where  we  had  left  the  1st 
and  3rd  brigades  and  the  artillery.  This  made  confusion  worse 
confounded,  and  our  case  seemed  hopeless.  At  last  it  was 
suggested  that  this  must  be  one  of  our  own  batteries,  who 
mistook  us  for  the  enemy,  and  we  held  up  our  colours  for  them 
to  see.  The  conjecture  seemed  to  be  correct,  for  the  firing  was 
at  once  stopped,  and  we  were  satisfied  that  our  friends  were 
still  there,  but  why  they  did  not  come  to  our  support  was 
inexplicable.  The  enemy  was  between  us  and  them,  but  they 
could  not  be  in  very  strong  force. 

A consultation  was  again  held  as  to  what  should  be  done. 
The  four  battalions  of  the  brigade  had  got  much  mixed  up, 
but  still  they  always  managed  to  form  quickly  in  line  without 
regard  to  the  companies  or  even  regiments  being  mixed,  and 
it  was  decided  to  form  up  in  regular  order  the  remains  of  the 
brigade,  attack  the  enemy  on  our  right  and  rear,  cut  our  way 
through,  and  get  back  to  where  we  had  left  the  1st  and  3rd 
brigades  at  noon. 

The  line  was  being  formed  in  the  field  just  along  the  edge 
of  the  wood.  I was  standing  in  front  of  our  company  closing 
them  up,  when  suddenly  I heard  a rush  or  rustling  like  a 
storm  of  wind  passing  through  the  woods,  and  one  of  the  boys 
cried  out  to  me,  “ Look  out,  sergeant.”  I looked  around,  and 
there  about  50  yards  distant,  coming  down  upon  us  in  full 
career,  was  a large  body  of  cavalry.  They  came  on  in  beauti- 
ful order,  with  their  long  heavy  swords  at  a guard,  their  lines 
as  regular  as  if  on  parade,  and  a look  of  malicious  triumph  in 
their  faces,  which  seemed  to  say,  “We  have  got  you  now.”  I 
had  scarcely  time  to  step  back  into  the  ranks,  every  man  stood 
firm,  their  pieces  levelled  steady,  with  the  deadly  determina- 


298 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


tion  of  despair,  not  a trigger  was  drawn  until  within  25 
yards,  when  our  fire  opened — not  in  a volley,  but  in  a steady 
continued  fusilade.  Then  down  went  men  and  horses.  Some 
horses  plunged  and  reared  in  the  air ; others  tumbled  forward 
and  threw  their  riders  uninjured  among  our  ranks ; some  of 
the  horses  in  falling  rolled  right  up  to  our  men’s  feet,  they 
standing  back  just  as  a man  at  the  sea-side  would  stand  back 
from  a large  wave  that  came  up  farther  than  the  rest.  The 
second  squadron,  not  being  able  to  check  their  velocity,  tumbled 
over  the  first,  our  troops  meanwhile  keeping  up  a steady  fire 
upon  them.  The  field  in  front  of  us  was  literally  piled  up  with 
dead  men  and  horses.  The  third  squadron  was  seen  through 
the  smoke  trying  to  wheel,  when  I heard  several  voices  cry 
out,  “ There  he  is ; down  with  him.”  I was  looking  forward 
to  see  what  it  was,  and  there  was  that  dashing  officer  with  the 
red  feather,  whom  we  had  seen  before,  falling  from  his  horse 
riddled  with  balls,  and  the  broken  remnants  of  his  splendid 
cavalry  flying  in  disorder  from  the  field. 

All  this  happened  in  less  time  than  I can  write  it.  The 
smoke  cleared  away,  and  the  field  in  front  of  us  presented  a 
scene  of  slaughter. 

Not  a word  was  spoken,  not  a cheer  was  raised.  Our 
men  stood  motionless,  seemingly  speechless  and  amazed  at 
their  own  work. 

This  gallant  though  rash  charge  of  cavalry — this  firmness 
of  our  men  as  they  stood  before  the  threatening  avalanche, 
and  poured  their  deadly  fire  on  them  with  such  earnest  steadi- 
ness and  precision,  while  the  slaughtered  squadrons  reeled  and 
fell,  seemed  to  me,  from  a military  point  of  view,  by  far  the 
most  brilliant  feat  that  I witnessed  during  my  experience  in 
the  war.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  I have  never  seen  any  record 
of  it  mentioned  in  reports  on  either  side.  It  was  no  doubt  on 
a small  scale,  and  indeed  very  little  of  the  details  of  what  was 
done  at  that  time  and  place  ever  found  its  way  into  print. 

Of  this  cavalry  all  we  ever  could  learn  was  that  it  was  a 
regiment  got  up  as  a crack  corps.  It  was  splendidly  mounted 
and  equipped,  well  trained,  and  full  of  dash,  and  no  doubt 
wishing  to  record  their  name  in  some  brilliant  charge,  and 
emulate  the  light  brigade  at  Balaclava,  made  this  onset  which 
resulted  in  their  destruction.  And  the  afiair,  with  the  other 
events  which  took  place  on  this  afternoon  at  the  same  place, 
having  no  one  to  report  or  record  them,  were  lost  in  the  stir- 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


299 


ring  events  of  the  time,  and  passed  over  as  best  to  be  buried 
in  oblivion. 

On  the  field  in  front  of  us  many  of  the  men  were  struggling 
to  extricate  themselves  from  the  horses  which  had  fallen  upon 
them. 

“ Go  and  help  the  poor  devils,’’  cried  some.  And  several 
who  were  unhurt  were  extricated,  and  with  those  who 
had  tumbled  into  our  ranks  were  made  prisoners.  But  what 
were  we  to  do  with  them  when  we  were  little  better  than 
prisoners  ourselves. 

Captain  G.  of  a neighbouring  company,  who  was  now  one  of 
the  few  officers  of  our  regiment  left  fit  for  duty,  was  suffering 
from  a bad  cold,  and  was  extremely  hoarse,  and  the  powder 
smoke  having  got  into  his  throat,  he  was  coughing  violently 
and  almost  speechless.  He  turned  to  me,  and  after  an  efibrt 
said  seriously  enough,  ‘‘Would  to  God  it  was  night  or 
reinforcements  would  come.”  I remembered  the  words  of 
Wellington. 

The  sun  was  now  getting  low.  I suggested  that  we  should 
send  out  some  scouts  to  take  a peep  round,  and  find  if  there 
was  a large  body  of  the  enemy  on  our  right  and  rear.  (The 
cavalry  having  come  from  that  direction  indicated  that  the 
enemy  must  be  there  in  force.)  He  objected  to  my  suggestion, 
“ For,”  said  he,  “ I fear  that  is  where  so  many  of  our  officers 
have  gone  and  fallen  into  a trap.”  There  was  now  a lull,  and 
there  was  no  firing  round  where  we  were,  but  we  heard  the 
battle  still  raging  furiously  far  on  our  left  on  the  other  side  of 
the  ridge.  The  excitement  being  over,  the  pangs  of  hunger 
set  in,  and  the  men  were  soon  ransacking  the  enemy’s  old 
camp  but  did  not  find  any  food.  They  then  went  among  the 
slain  and  rifled  their  haversacks.  A cry  went  up  that  they 
were  plundering,  but  when  it  was  told  that  they  were  only 
taking  the  food  out  of  the  dead  men’s  haversacks,  considering 
their  wretched  state  of  starvation,  it  was  excusable. 

But  now  a horseman  was  seen  coming  galloping  across  the 
fields  waving  a white  handkerchief. 

“ Here  comes  a flag  of  truce,”  cries  one,  “ we  are  completely 
surrounded,  and  it  is  a demand  for  us  to  surrender.” 

“ ’Tis  not,”  cried  another,  “it  is  a captain  of  artillery  from 
one  of  our  own  batteries,”  and  this  was  correct. 

“ Is  this  North  or  South  ? ” cried  he,  as  he  approached. 

“ South,”  was  the  answer. 


300 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


“ All  right.  Is  it  the  2nd  brigade  1 ” 

‘‘  Yes.’’ 

“Was  it  you  I fired  into  some  time  ago  1 ” 

“ It  wa,s.” 

He  then  explained  that  since  the  time  we  had  marched  off 
to  open  the  battle  at  noon,  he  with  the  other  two  batteries 
had  been  awaiting  orders  but  had  got  none.  He  had  watched 
the  hard  fighting  throughout  the  afternoon,  but  could  not 
distinguish  friend  from  foe.  And  it  was  when  we  had  changed 
front  and  turned  round  to  fight  the  enemy  on  our  right  and 
rear,  that  he  mistook  us  for  the  enemy  and  fired  upon  us. 

He  had  seen  or  heard  nothing  of  McCulloch,  McIntosh, 
Hebert,  or  any  of  the  field  officers  of  our  brigade,  and  no 
orders  had  come  to  him  or  to  the  other  batteries,  or  to  the 
1st  and  3rd  brigades  that  he  knew  of.  There  was  some 
terrible  mistake  or  mishap  somewhere,  and  he  could  wait  no 
longer  but  must  gallop  back  to  his  post  in  case  some  orders 
should  arrive  in  his  absence. 

It  was  now  near  sunset,  and  it  was  freezing  hard  and  getting 
very  cold,  and  the  little  water  we  had  in  our  canteens  was 
frozen,  and  whether  it  is  from  inhaling  the  smoke  of  the  powder 
or  from  the  general  excitement  or  perhaps  both  I do  not  know, 
but  thirst  is  generally  very  prevalent  on  a field  of  battle. 

The  lull  in  the  fighting  continued,  and  no  further  attacks 
were  made.  The  main  body  of  the  enemy  on  our  left  and  front, 
probably  not  knowing  the  weakness  of  our  force,  did  not  seem 
inclined  to  come  from  their  strong  position  and  attack  us, 
while  it  was  quite  possible  for  the  smaller  force  on  our  right 
and  rear  to  pass  across  our  rear  and  join  their  friends. 

I again  proposed  to  the  officers  to  go  out  and  reconnoitre  on 
our  right  and  rear,  and  try  to  find  if  the  enemy  was  still  in 
force,  but,  to  tell  the  truth,  my  real  object  was  to  try  and  get 
some  water  and  perhaps  something  to  eat  from  the  enemy’s 
haversacks,  which  were  lying  on  the  ground.  I was  allowed 
to  go,  but  was  ordered  to  take  a few  men  with  me  so  that  some 
of  us  might  get  back  to  report.  I took  about  10  men  with  me 
and  proceeded  cautiously.  The  men,  who  as  well  as  myself 
had  an  eye  to  some  grub,  as  they  called  it,  helped  themselves 
from  the  haversacks  of  the  enemy’s  dead  as  we  passed  on,  and 
within  the  thicker  part  of  the  wood  it  was  not  so  cold,  and  the 
water  in  the  canteens  not  being  frozen,  the  men  decanted  it 
into  their  own  canteens. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


301 


When  we  got  near  the  place  where  we  expected  the  enemy 
to  be,  we  saw  a wounded  man  of  the  enemy  sitting  on  the 
ground  leaning  his  back  against  a tree.  He  was  wounded  in 
the  leg  and  unable  to  walk,  and  he  asked  us  for  some  water. 
Thinking  to  get  some  information  out  of  him,  I asked  him  why 
he  asked  from  us  when  his  friends  were  close  by,  pointing  in 
the  direction  I supposed  them  to  be.  He  said  they  were  gone, 
he  supposed,  to  join  the  main  army  if  they  could  get  past  our 
forces.  One  of  my  men  brought  him  a canteen  of  water  and  a 
pretty  well-filled  haversack  taken  from  one  of  his  dead  com- 
rades, telling  him  at  the  same  time  to  take  care  he  did  not  lie, 
as  we  were  going  in  that  direction,  and  if  he  found  he  told  a 
lie  he  would  shoot  him.  The  man  pointed  with  his  hand  and 
said  they  had  gone  in  that  direction,  but  that  was  all  he  could 
say  about  them,  and  he  was  afraid  he  would  die  of  cold  if  left 
there.  We  could  not  help  him,  but  some  of  the  men  cut  some 
of  the  heavy  coats  ofi*  his  dead  comrades  and  gave  him  to  wrap 
round  him,  still  assuring  him  that  they  would  shoot  him  if 
they  found  he  had  told  a lie.  I tried  to  get  some  further 
information  out  of  him  but  could  not. 

We  left  this  man  and  went  on  a little  further,  being  now 
more  confident.  We  soon  came  to  a place  where  a large  force 
had  been  shortly  before.  The  snow,  which  lay  here  and  there 
in  patches,  was  much  trampled,  and  there  was  appearance  of  a 
large  body  of  horse  having  been  there  recently,  probably  that 
was  where  the  cavalry  had  assembled  before  charging  us, 
but  all  seemed  to  have  gone.  Just  then  we  heard  firing  again 
where  we  had  left  our  friends,  and  we  hastened  back.  The  firing 
was  soon  over,  as  it  had  not  been  much  of  an  attack.  On  our 
way  back  we  passed  through  'the  place  where  the  heaviest  of 
the  fighting  had  been.  The  trees  were  thickly  spotted  with 
bullet  marks,  but  those  which  had  come  against  us  were  mostly 
high  up  and  above  the  level  of  our  heads,  while  those  that  had 
gone  from  us,  though  much  less  in  number,  were  lower  down 
and  within  five  feet  of  the  ground. 

On  the  way  back  my  men  picked  up  some  of  the  arms  from 
the  field — those  of  the  enemy  being  mostly  Enfield  rifles, 
Belgian  rifles,  and  Colt  repeating  rifles,  the  two  former  with 
raised  sights,  all  set  for  200  yards. 

We  got  back  and  reported  what  we  had  seen.  It  was  now 
pretty  certain  that  the  enemy  had  gone  from  our  right  and 
rear.  But  all  eyes  were  now  fixed  on  a body  of  cavalry  that 


302 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


was  forming  on  the  fields  at  a distance  on  our  right.  Was 
this  going  to  be  another  charge  down  upon  us  It  was  now 
getting  dark  and  it  was  difficult  to  make  out  their  flag.  Some 
were  sure  it  was  our  own  men,  a part  of  the  1st  brigade.  I 
knew  that  they  had  not  come  out  of  the  wood  where  we  had 
seen  traces  of  the  enemy’s  cavalry ; but  far  beyond  that  and 
near  the  place  where  we  had  left  the  1st  and  3rd  brigades 
at  noon.  I volunteered  to  go  with  my  party  and  reconnoitre, 
keeping  within  the  wood.  I did  not  wait  for  answer,  but 
started  off,  tired  as  we  were,  but  glad  to  get  anything  to  keep 
us  in  heat.  We  passed  along  keeping  within  the  wood  until 
near  to  them,  when  we  peeped  out,  and  could  see  their  flag 
plainly,  and  I think  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I hailed  with 
joy  sincere  the  Confederate  flag.  We  went  out  towards  them, 
and  two  officers  rode  forward  to  meet  us,  when  we  told  them 
who  we  were,  and  pointed  to  where  the  2nd  brigade  was. 
They  started  at  the  gallop  towards  it,  while  we  followed 
leisurely. 

When  we  got  back  the  two  officers  were  in  earnest  and 
serious  conversation  with  the  officers  of  our  brigade.  The 
troops  we  had  seen  turned  out  to  be  the  2nd  Texas  Cavalry, 
and  this  was  their  colonel  and  another  officer  that  had  ridden 
out  to  meet  us. 

After  some  serious  consultation  between  them  and  our 
officers  it  was  decided  to  form  up  the  remains  of  the  brigade 
and  retire  from  this  position.  It  was  now  pretty  dark,  and 
getting  the  men  together  was  a little  difficult.  I missed  about 
24  out  of  the  company,  three  of  whom  I knew  to  be  dead, 
and  five  were  present  wounded,  and  had  got  mounted  on 
horses  which  had  been  caught  riderless — quite  a number  of 
our  wounded,  all  over  the  brigade  were  now  mounted  on  the 
fine  cavalry  horses  which  had  fallen  into  our  hands. 

As  we  left  the  field  the  cries  of  the  wounded  imploring  not 
to  be  left  to  die  of  cold  was  heartrending,  and  a halt  was 
made  for  a party  to  volunteer  to  go  without  arms  and  attend 
to  them,  taking  the  chance  of  being  made  prisoners  by  the 
enemy.  After  consulting  with  Lieutenant  G.,  I gave  the 
names  of  the  missing,  and  those  I supposed  to  be  on  the 
ground  wounded,  and  we  sent  four  men  to  look  after  them, 
Lieutenant  G.  saying  he  would  take  the  responsibility  without 
anyone’s  orders.  I remarked  at  the  time  that  I feared  that 
we  had  now  no  longer  at  our  head  a general  who  knew  his 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


303 


duty,  and  could  treat  with  the  enemy  as  at  Oakhill  on  such 
matters.  Lieutenant  G.  pulled  me  by  the  arm,  saying — 

“ Hush,  man;  don’t  talk  that  way.” 

‘‘  I will  talk  that  way,”  said  I,  bitterly ; “I  fear  the  worst 
for  Generals  McCulloch  and  M‘Intosh,  and  if  they  are  gone 
there  is  not  a general  left  worth  the  name,  and  has  there 
been  anything  like  generalship  here  to-day,  or  throughout  any 
part  of  this  campaign  ? ” 

“ W.,”  said  he,  “ you  are  well  off  at  not  being  hampered  by  a 
commission;  if  I were  as  free  as  you  I might  talk  the  same  way 
about  this  campaign,  but  let  me  tell  you  one  thing,  and  I don’t 
want  you  to  say  anything  about  it  to  the  men,  but  this  is 
certain — McCulloch  is  dead,  McIntosh  is  dead  ; they  both  fell 
about  the  first  opening  of  the  fire.  Hebert  is  missing,  Major 
T.  is  missing,  every  field  officer  in  the  brigade  is  hors  de  combat. 
Colonel  M‘C.  is  wounded.  Colonel  M‘H.  is  wounded,  and  a 
great  many  other  officers  are  wounded  or  missing  ; and  I don’t 
know  who  now  commands  the  brigade,  or  even  the  regiment.” 

‘‘  Where  did  you  hear  this  *?”  said  I. 

“ From  Colonel of  the  2nd  Texas  Cavalry  ; and  there 

is  said  to  be  more  bad  news,  besides  that.” 

“What  is  that?”  said  I. 

“ The  3rd  brigade  is  broken  up,  and  a lot  of  them  gone 
away.” 

“ Gone  away  ! How  do  you  mean  ? ” 

“ Skedaddled,  I suppose,”  said  he. 

“ Well,”  said  I,  “ if  McCulloch  and  MTntosh  are  gone, 
good-bye  to  the  Army  of  the  West.” 

“ That  is  the  way,”  continued  he,  “ that  we  were  not  rein- 
forced. The  1st  and  3rd  brigades,  and  the  three  batteries  of 
artillery  have  been  lying  idle  all  day  awaiting  orders,  and  no 
orders  came  to  them,  and  I suppose  Hebert  and  other  officers, 
going  to  find  out  the  cause,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.” 

“ And  where,”  said  I,  “ was  the  Commander-in-Chief  Yan 
Dorn,  who  should  be  seeing  to  everything  ? Will  he  be  down 
also,  that  there  was  no  one  to  see  to  how  things  were  going 
on  in  this  part  of  the  field  ?” 

“Oh,  that  I don’t  know,”  said  he;  “there  seems  to  be 
something  wrong  somewhere.” 

It  was  now  dark,  but  the  cannonade  on  our  left  and  the 
enemy’s  right  was  still  raging  furiously,  suggesting  that  there 
must  be  a good  many  pieces  of  artillery  on  both  sides.  The 


304 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


darkness  of  the  night,  the  bleak  moaning  of  the  cold  wind,  and 
the  continued  roar  of  artillery  would  have  suggested  a theme 
for  a weird  romancer,  but  we  saw  no  romance  about  it.  We 
felt  it  bitterly  cold,  and  the  heavy  fire  of  the  artillery  we 
considered  was  little  more  than  a gross  waste  of  ammunition. 

We  now  took  a position  near  the  Bentonville  road  to  await 
orders,  but  we  were  forbidden  to  make  fires  lest  the  enemy 
should  observe  us.  A party  was  sent  to  bring  up  our  over- 
coats and  blankets  from  the  place  where  we  had  stripped 
before  going  into  battle.  They  returned  with  the  unwelcome 
news  that  everything  had  been  carried  off,  and  we  were  left 
without  overcoats  or  blankets,  and  the  night  was  bitter  cold. 

We  then  insisted  on  making  fires,  as  better  be  killed  by  the 
enemy  than  be  frozen  to  death.  This  was  then  allowed  and  a 
guard  thrown  out.  Large  fires  were  made,  and  the  men  tried 
to  get  a little  sleep,  but  that  was  impossible,  for  when  their 
clothes  were  burning  on  one  side  the  other  side  was  freezing, 
and  they  had  to  keep  turning  round  like  a roast  on  a spit  to 
keep  from  being  frozen.  Darkness  had  now  stopped  the 
fighting  and  all  was  still.  About  two  hours  after  we  had 
lighted  the  fires  the  alarm  was  spread  that  we  were  attacked, 
and  some  firing  was  heard,  and  all  jumped  up  and  seized  their 
arms.  It  turned  out,  however,  to  be  a false  alarm.  The'cause 
of  the  alarm  was  this  : Some  of  the  men,  sufiering  from  the 
intense  cold,  remembered  that  they  had  seen  in  the  enemy’s 
camp  plenty  of  blankets  and  overcoats,  and  slipping  quietly 
off  returned  to  the  battlefield  in  the  darkness,  and  having 
collected  some  blankets  and  equipping  themselves  in  the 
enemy’s  overcoats  they  were  returning  with  their  booty,  when 
one  of  the  pickets,  seeing  what  he  naturally  took  by  their 
greatcoats  to  be  a party  of  Federals  approaching,  fired  his 
piece  and  gave  the  alarm,  other  pickets  doing  the  same,  and 
hence  the  commotion. 

All  was  soon  quiet  again,  but  before  they  were  fairly  settled 
down  orders  came  for  the  whole  force  to  come  round  and  join 
Price’s  army  on  the  Elkhorn  road.  This,  though  not  more 
than  three  miles  in  a direct  line,  was  about  eight  miles  round 
by  road. 

The  men  got  up  staggering  with  fatigue  and  half-dead  with 
cold  and  hunger,  but  it  was  better  for  them,  as  the  march 
would  bring  heat  into  them.  The  column  was  formed,  the 
prisoners  we  had  captured  were  spread  along  between  our  files, 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


305 


and  we  marched  along  doggedly  enough.  The  two  prisoners 
next  to  me  and  under  my  charge  were  cavalrymen  who  had 
tumbled  into  our  ranks  when  their  horses  fell.  Some  attempts 
were  made  at  conversation  as  we  trudged  along,  but  it  was 
difficult  to  keep  it  up ; they  were  in  no  mood  for  conversation, 
neither  were  we.  This  was  now  the  second  night  of  the 
fighting,  and  the  battle  seemed  to  be  as  far  from  being  decided 
as  ever. 

At  length  we  came  to  a halt.  We  were  relieved  of  the 
prisoners,  and,  as  it  would  be  an  hour  or  two  until  daylight, 
we  might  lie  down  and  rest.  We  lay  down  by  the  side  of  the 
road.  Our  company  happened  to  be  at  a place  where  some 
rocks  overhung  the  road,  which  broke  off  the  biting  winds, 
and  we  huddled  close  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks  and  dozed  a little 
in  a sort  of  stupor. 

At  the  first  appearance  of  dawn  the  artillery  burst  forth 
again,  and  we  rose  up  with  joints  stifiened  with  cold  and 
fatigue  and  in  no  great  condition  or  inclination  to  renew  the 
fighting  ; nevertheless,  not  a murmur  was  heard,  and  everyone 
moved  mechanically  to  his  duty. 

While  we  were  awaiting  orders  the  1st  brigade  and  the 
artillery,  who  had  chafed  at  having  to  lie  idle  on  the  previous 
day  while  we  were  sore  harassed,  pushed  past  us  to  get  to  the 
front,  cheering  us  as  they  passed  and  crying  to  us  that  we 
had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  battle  yesterday,  and  they  would 
take  it  to-day.  Brave  and  gallant  fellows  were  those  of  the 
1st  brigade  and  the  artillery,  but  they  had  lost  their  gallant 
leader,  the  brave  MTntosh.  But  where  was  the  3rd  brigade  ? 
Some  of  them,  including  some  of  the  Indians,  came  up  in 
broken  parties  and  attached  themselves  to  the  1st  and  2nd 
brigades.  But  where  was  the  gallant  General  Pike,  the 
political  patriot  and  the  flower  of  Arkansas  chivalry  That 
question  I cannot  answer,  for  I never  learned,  and  it  would 
not  do  to  credit  all  the  strictures  I heard  passed  on  his  action 
at  the  time,  although  it  might  be  satisfactorily  explained  for 
anything  we  knew. 

Our  ammunition  being  nearly  exhausted,  it  was  necessary 
that  we  should  get  a fresh  supply  before  going  into  action,  and 
we  were  moved  forward  to  a place  where  we  were  to  get  it 
served  out. 

We  passed  over  a place  where  there  seemed  to  have  been 
heavy  fighting  on  the  previous  day ; at  least  there  appeared  to 

u 


306 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


have  been  heavy  damage  done  by  artillery.  The  ground  was 
ploughed  up  with  shot  and  strewn  with  fragments  of  shells ; 
dead  horses,  broken  caissons  and  waggons,  and  other  debris 
lay  scattered  about.  At  last  we  came  to  the  wreck  of  some 
of  the  enemy’s  ammunition  waggons,  where  several  boxes  of 
small  arms  ammunition  were  lying  open  and  the  cartridges 
scattered  about,  and  the  men  were  told  to  help  themselves. 
Our  company,  however,  was  unfortunate,  as  the  cartridges 
were  all  for  a larger  calibre  than  our  rifles,  and  no  cartridges 
were  found  suitable  for  Springfield  rifles.  On  examining  the 
pouches,  however,  we  found  that  we  had  an  average  left  of  about 
fifteen  rounds  to  each  man.  We  took  some  of  the  nearest 
size  in  our  pockets,  intending  to  pare  the  bullets  down  if  we 
got  time. 

The  battle  was  now  raging  furiously,  and  our  three  batteries 
having  joined  in,  added  at  least  a good  deal  more  to  the  noise. 
We  were  marched  hither  and  thither,  and  left  standing  some- 
times in  the  range  of  the  artillery  fire  and  sometimes  out  of 
it,  no  one  seeming  to  know  where  we  were  to  go  or  what  we 
were  to  do.  We  saw  some  of  the  1st  brigade  who  were  not 
yet  led  into  battle,  and  did  not  know  the  position  of  the 
enemy ; and  there  seemed  to  be  no  one  able  to  tell  them  or 
direct  them  in  any  way,  and  they  had  just  been  told  to  be  in 
readiness  and  await  orders,  and  they  were  getting  irritated 
and  impatient. 

We  were  at  last  taken  to  an  open  position,  where  we  were 
told  to  be  in  readiness  to  fall  in.  Here  we  could  see  some 
distance  over  where  the  fighting  was  going  on.  There  was  an 
open  field  in  front,  and  in  the  wood  on  each  side  of  it  and 
beyond  it  the  fighting  was  going  on ; but,  except  the  noise  of  the 
firing  and  the  smoke  issuing  from  the  trees,  we  could  ascertain 
nothing.  Numbers  of  the  Indians  on  horseback  were  flying 
backwards  and  forwards  in  the  open  field,  but,  whether  they 
were  going  messages,  or  seeking  employment,  or  what  they 
were  doing  or  trying  to  do  we  could  not  find  out. 

A short  distance  from  us,  and  on  the  wooded  ridge  which 
bounded  the  field  on  one  side,  our  three  batteries  had  taken 
up  positions  and  had  singled  out  the  enemy’s  batteries  and 
opened  fire  upon  them,  and  were  keeping  up  a sort  of  artillery 
duel ; while  the  enemy,  replying  to  them  and  knowing  there 
must  be  infantry  near  to  support  them,  sent  a good  deal  of 
their  shot  our  way. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


307 


I think  there  is  nothing  so  galling  to  troops  as  to  have  to 
stand  still  under  an  artillery  fire,  even  though  that  fire  be 
comparatively  harmless,  while  other  troops  around  them  are 
actively  engaged.  Our  men,  however,  at  the  time  were  too 
jaded  to  mind  it  much.  They  sat  down  on  the  ground,  ate  up 
the  last  of  the  rations  they  had  taken  from  the  enemy’s  haver- 
sacks on  the  previous  day,  smoked,  and  the  sun  now  shining 
out  warm  many  of  them  lay  down  and  fell  asleep. 

About  10  o’clock  the  firing  from  the  artillery  got  very 
heavy,  as  also  the  fire  from  the  small  arms,  and  up  to  about 
11  o’clock  the  battle  raged  furiously.  We  supposed  the  1st 
brigade  had  now  got  engaged,  and  we  would  be  called  up 
immediately ; but  still  there  was  no  appearance  of  any  orders, 
and  several  small  detachments  of  troops  which  we  did  not 
know  were  posted  near  us  also  awaiting  orders. 

Towards  noon  there  was  a sort  of  lull  in  the  firing,  and  we 
heard  cheering  and  counter-cheering,  and  then  the  fire  was 
again  very  heavy  for  a short  time.  Our  men  now  began  to 
get  impatient. 

Shortly  after  mid-day  the  fire  of  the  artillery  again  slackened 
and  we  noticed  the  battery  nearest  to  us  had  stopped  firing  alto- 
gether. Knowing  this  to  be  Captain  K.’s  battery,  who  had 
ridden  over  to  us  on  the  previous  day,  I remarked  to  Lieuten- 
ant G.  that  if  I thought  we  would  not  be  likely  to  fall  in 
soon  I would  go  over  to  him,  and  see  if  I could  get  any 
news. 

“ Oh,  hang  it,”  cried  he,  “ I believe  we  may  lie  here  all  day. 
I don’t  believe  Van  Dorn  knows  anything  about  us,  or” 

“ Or  about  anything  else,  you  were  going  to  say,”  said  I, 
reminding  him  of  his  checking  my  remarks  on  the  previous 
day.' 

“Well,”  cried  he,  half  laughing,  half  irritated,  “I  do  believe 
he  has  not  got  his  army  in  hand  at  all,  and  he  is  making  a 
regular  botch  of  this  fight ; away  you  go,  and  see  if  you  can 
learn  anything  about  how  things  are  going ; you  will  see  us  if 
we  are  marched  ofi*.” 

I hastened  over  to  the  battery ; the  men  were  sitting  down 
on  the  ground,  and  Captain  R,.  was  looking  round  with  his 
glass.  On  seeing  me  he  cried  out : — 

“ Where  are  you  from  ? ” 

“ The  3rd  Louisiana,”  said  I,  “ don’t  you  remember  yester- 
day 


308 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


“ Oh,  yes,’’  said  he,  “I  remember.  Where  is  your  regiment  ? ” 

“ Over  there,”  said  I,  “ but  what  is  the  matter  ? Are  you 
silenced  ? ” 

“ Silenced  ! No,  d n it,”  said  he,  “ I am  just  waiting 

for  the  guns  to  cool  a little ; besides,  I am  short  of  long  range 
ammunition;  I have  given  them  the  last  of  my  round-shot, 
shells,  and  shrapnels — I have  grape  and  canister  left,  but  that 
is  of  no  use  at  this  distance.  I have  sent  to  see  if  I cannot  get 
a supply,  or  orders,  but  have  got  neither.  What  is  your 
regiment  doing  to-day  ? ” 

‘‘Doing  nothing,”  said  I,  “standing  all  day  awaiting 
orders.” 

“ Confound  it,”  said  he,  “ that  is  what  the  half  of  the  army 
has  been  doing  all  through  this  fight.  I got  no  orders ; I just 
came  here  and  took  up  this  position,  and  pitched  in.  I 
silenced  one  battery  down  there,  and  I could  do  something 
with  yon  fellows  on  the  side  of  the  hill  if  I could  get  some 
long  range  ammunition,  but  there  seems  to  be  nobody  to  attend 
to  anything ! ” 

I then  asked  him  if  he  had  any  idea  how  things  were 
going. 

“No,”  said  he,  “I  have  not ; I suppose  you  know  that  Ben 
has  been  killed  ? ” 

“ Yes,”  said  I,  “ and  M‘Intosh  also.” 

“I  tell  you  what  it  is,  sergeant,”  said  he,  “if  we  gain  a 
complete  victory  here  to-day,  which  I have  my  doubts  about, 
it  will  be  dearly  bought  with  the  loss  of  these  two  men.” 

I agreed  with  him,  and  took  my  leave. 

As  I walked  back  to  where  the  regiment  lay,  the  firing  was 
becoming  gradually  less.  When  I got  to  our  company,  one  or 
two  officers  from  other  companies  were  sitting  with  them.  I 
told  them  all  I had  heard,  and  that  Captain  R.  had  never 
got  any  orders,  but  took  up  position  and  opened  fire  of  his 
own  accord. 

What  could  be  the  meaning  of  this?  was  now  the  con- 
jecture. 

“ Perhaps,”  said  one,  “ Yan  Dorn  is  still  sick.” 

“No,”  said  another,  “ he  was  all  right  yesterday.” 

“ I heard,”  said  another,  “ that  Price  was  killed  this 
morning.” 

“ Oh,  that  is  quite  true,”  said  Tim  D.,  “ but  he  is  only 
wounded.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


309 


‘‘  Oh,  Tim,  an  Irish  bull  again,”  and  they  all  laughed. 

Tim  was  a little  irritated  at  their  laughing  at  him,  and  did 
not  think  it  was  a time  for  laughing,  and  retorted  by  saying 
that  they  were  just  laughing  for  a brag,  and  wanted  to  make 
believe  they  were  laughing  when  they  were  not  laughing  at 
all. 

The  firing,  which  had  been  getting  slack  on  both  sides,  had 
now  nearly  died  away,  and  there  were  reports  going  that 
ammunition  was  about  spent  on  both  sides.  We  now  expected 
to  be  called  on  at  once,  and  some  little  preparations  were  made, 
but  still  no  orders  came. 

It  was  now  past  one  o’clock,  the  firing  had  entirely  ceased, 
and  everything  had  been  quiet  for  the  last  half-hour,  when  an 
aide-de-camp  came  along  and  delivered  some  orders. 

We  did  not  know  who  was  in  command  of  the  brigade;  the 
regiment  was  commanded  for  the  time  by  the  senior  captain, 
and  orders  were  given  to  the  company  on  the  right  to  fall  in, 
and  the  rest  to  follow  the  “ aide  ” riding  at  the  head  to  act  as 
guide.  We  were  now  countermarched  by  the  way  we  had 
come.  This  did  not  look  like  going  into  battle,  but  we  were 
told  that  the  enemy  were  retreating  by  their  left  flank  and 
would  pass  over  the  ground  where  we  had  fought  yesterday, 
and  would  likely  try  to  follow  the  Benton ville  road  and  get 
northwards  towards  Keatsville,  and  that  we  were  going  to  cut 
them  ofi*  and  capture  their  artillery  and  baggage  trains.  This 
seemed  likely  enough,  and  if  the  enemy  had  been  defeated  it 
was  the  only  way  they  could  retreat,  and  we  would  have  a fair 
chance  of  at  least  cutting  off  their  baggage  trains.  We  began 
to  think  that  Yan  Dorn  was  not  such  a bad  general  after  all. 

We  marched  along  among  traces  of  the  battle  and  through 
several  passages  where  the  enemy  had  cut  down  trees  to  form 
abatis,  but  never  came  out  to  the  Elkhorn  road.  We  could 
not  tell  where  we  were  or  were  being  led  to,  but  by  the  sun  I 
thought  we  were  making  a detour;  and  after  about  two  hours 
we  seemed  to  be  going  to  the  eastwards  and  getting  further 
away  from  the  battlefield,  and  here  we  began  to  join  with  other 
parts  of  the  army,  and  the  aide-de-camp  left  us. 

We  thought  we  should  be  up  to  near  the  Keatsville  road  by 
this  time  if  we  had  been  going  in  that  direction.  Lieutenant 
G.  remarked  to  me  that  this  looked  strange;  I thought  so 
too. 

A battery  of  artillery  was  moving  along  before  us,  the  men 


310 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


sitting  on  the  guns,  their  faces  blackened  with  powder.  We 
did  not  know  what  battery  it  was,  but  away  before  it  we  saw 
other  batteries  and  horse  and  foot  moying  slowly  along. 
Lieutenant  G.  went  away  forward  to  see  if  he  could  gain  any 
information.  In  a short  time  he  came  back  saying,  “It  is  now 
no  use  to  try  and  say  anything  else  about  it.  They  may  call 
it  what  they  like,  but  it  is  a retreat,  and  nothing  else,  but  don’t 
say  anything  about  it,  or  there  will  be  a regular  mutiny.” 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


DISSATISFACTION  OF  THE  TROOPS  AT  THE  CONDUCT  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN—A  VISIT 
TO  THE  enemy’s  CAMP— EXCHANGE  OF  PRISONERS— GROSS  MISMANAGE- 
MENT-CRITICAL POSITION  AND  WRETCHED  CONDITION  OF  THE  ARMY- 
PRIVATION  AND  STARVATION— A MINIATURE  MOSCOW  RETREAT— ARRIVAL 
AT  VAN  BUREN— REORGANISING  AGAIN  AT  FORT  SMITH. 

This  movement  soon  got  to  be  discussed  all  along  the  line.  It 
was  denied  that  it  was  a retreat,  and  it  was  asserted  to  have 
been  a victory.  The  enemy  was  said  to  have  been  beaten,  but 
that  Van  Dorn  could  not  wait  to  cut  them  off  or  pursue  them, 
as  he  had  orders  to  hurry  with  his  troops  to  join  the  Army  of 
the  Centre,  on  the  Mississippi,  where  we  had  been  preparing  to 
go  when  we  were  hurried  out  of  winter  quarters  by  the  advance 
of  the  army  we  had  just  fought.  It  was  also  whispered  that 
Van  Dorn  had  fought  this  battle  on  his  own  responsibility  and 
against  orders;  that  his  orders  had  been  that  the  Western 
States  were  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  Army  of  the  West  was 
to  join  the  Army  of  the  Centre  at  Memphis.  Such  were  the 
arguments  all  along  the  line. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  intention  it  was  clear  enough 
that  there  had  been  a shameful  piece  of  bungling  and  mis- 
management, and  the  discontent  and  clamour  became  general, 
and  everyone  was  disgusted.  One  or  two  companies,  which 
were  composed  largely  of  Irish,  being  dissatisfied  at  not  getting 
to  fight  it  out  with  the  enemy,  commenced  to  fight  amongst 
themselves,  and  a regular  melee  broke  out  a short  distance  in 
front  of  us.  The  rioters  were,  however,  pushed  on  by  those 
behind,  and  not  allowed  to  block  up  the  way  with  their  fight- 
ing. As  we  came  up  to  the  place  one  man  was  lying  senseless 
by  the  side  of  the  path,  and  another  was  coolly  trying  to 
straighten  the  barrel  of  his  musket,  which  he  had  bent  into 
the  form  of  a crescent  by  striking  the  former  over  the  head 
with  it.  He  was  now  pushing  the  muzzle  down  into  the 
ground  and  trying  to  bend  it  back  again,  amidst  the  laughter 
of  our  boys,  who  cried  out,  “ Never  mind  it,  Paddy ; it  will 
now  do  to  shoot  round  the  corners.’’ 

We  at  last  came  to  a halt  for  the  night,  but  our  mortification 


312 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


may  be  imagined  when  we  found  that  we  were  quite  away 
from  any  road,  and  entirely  cut  off  from  our  trains  or  any 
means  of  getting  supplies,  having  made  a circuit  and  fought 
round  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  while  our  supply  waggons,  if  we 
had  any  on  the  way,  must  be  far  away  on  the  other  road  with 
the  enemy  between  us  and  them.  Hungry  as  we  were  there 
was  no  possibility  of  getting  anything  to  eat  for  this  night. 
The  men  were  told  that  they  must  make  it  out  for  another 
night,  and  to-morrow  we  would  march  to  a place  where  the 
supply  waggons  would  meet  us  by  another  road  across  the 
country.  The  men  did  not  place  much  faith  in  the  exertions 
of  the  commissary,  but  there  was  no  help  for  it.  They  were 
also  worn  out  with  fatigue  and  want  of  sleep,  and  it  was  now 
impossible  to  obtain  any  sleep  on  account  of  the  cold.  The 
men  had  neither  blankets  nor  overcoats,  except  a few  they  had 
picked  up  on  the  battlefield. 

The  place  where  we  bivouacked  was  rather  a sheltered  spot, 
and  there  was  a good  deal  of  dry  grass  and  leaves,  and  I and 
a few  more  huddled  close  under  a large  fallen  tree,  beside  which 
there  was  a good  quantity  of  this  dry  grass  and  leaves.  We 
found  this  rather  a snug  place,  and  free  from  the  cold  biting 
wind,  and  we  were  soon  asleep.  We  had  slept  for  several 
hours  when,  sometime  after  midnight,  I was  awakened  by  the 
others  jumping  up  alarmed,  and  crying  to  get  up  quick,  as  we 
were  lying  among  rattlesnakes  ! 

We  sprang  up  quicker  than  if  it  had  been  the  enemy,  when 
one  of  the  boys  declared  that  he  had  heard  one  rattle  close  to 
his  head;  and  the  whole  bivouac  was  roused,  seizing  their 
arms,  thinking  we  had  been  attacked  by  the  enemy. 

When  the  cause  of  the  alarm  became  known  some  of  our 
comrades  laughed  at  us,  and  said,  “ Who  ever  heard  of  rattle- 
snakes being  abroad  in  such  cold  weather  But  then  it  was 
known  that  they  were  very  plentiful  in  this  district ; and  it 
was  just  in  such  places  that  they  hid  themselves  in  cold 
weather;  and  it  was  extremely  likely  that  there  might  be 
some  of  them  about  the  old  tree.  Nothing  could  induce  any 
of  us  to  lie  down  again,  and  the  others  beat  the  ground  well, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  bivouacs. 

We  stood  shivering  in  the  cold,  and  sleepy,  and  considered 
that  it  was  too  bad,  after  all  the  privations  of  the  last  few  days, 
we  should  be  put  out  of  our  humble  bed  by  these  varmints ; 
and,  being  still  in  fighting  humour,  we  determined  upon 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


313 


revenge.  Accordingly  dry  grass  and  dry  branches  of  trees 
were  got,  and  packed  all  round  and  under  the  old  tree  and  set 
fire  to,  determined  to  make  the  place  hot  for  the  snakes.  This 
at  least  warmed  us  and  gave  some  amusement,  while  the  boys 
stood  round  with  their  sabres  ready  to  slay  the  first  snake  that 
should  attempt  to  come  out.  None  came  out — at  least,  that 
we  saw,  although  it  is  possible  some  may  have  escaped  in 
the  darkness.  From  what  we  learned  of  the  place  it  was 
extremely  probable  that  such  reptiles  may  have  been  there, 
and  this  warned  us  to  be  more  careful  in  future  when  selecting 
our  bivouacs. 

The  alarm,  however,  ha^  done  us  good ; we  had  had  a few 
hours’  sleep,  and  the  excitement  had  warmed  us  and  caused 
our  blood  to  circulate,  and  we  stood  by  the  fire  and  smoked 
and  discussed  the  results  of  the  late  battle  until  daylight. 

When  daylight  appeared  we  moved  on  again.  There  was 
no  general  road  but  rude  bridle  paths  through  the  woods,  and 
the  country  was  very  thinly  settled,  and  for  miles  at  a time 
not  the  slightest  sign  of  a human  habitation.  How  the 
artillery  got  along  seems  a mystery  to  me,  although  details 
were  made  to  clear  and  make  roads  for  them  and  get  the 
heavy  caissons  over  bad  places.  We  understood  that  our 
march  that  day  would  not  be  a long  one  and  that  we  should 
halt  at  a place  where  our  supply  waggons  would  meet  us,  and 
we  would  rest  there  a day  or  two  and  reorganise.  What 
should  be  done  after  that  was  now  the  conjecture  and  topic  of 
discussion. 

After  a short  march,  or  rather,  struggle,  through  the  rough 
country  we  came  in  the  afternoon  to  an  open  space  on  the 
banks  of  a stony  creek,  where  there  was  some  appearance  of 
the  country  having  been  inhabited  and  where  some  apologies 
for  roads  crossed  each  other.  By  one  of  these  roads  our  supply 
waggons  were  expected,  to  come,  but  there  was  not  yet  any 
appearance  of  them.  However,  it  was  allowed  that  they  had 
scarcely  time  to  be  forward. 

Near  the  place  where  our  regiment  rested  there  were  some 
buildings,  including  a grist  mill,  but  the  inhabitants  had  all 
fled,  and  the  farm  and  mill  were  deserted.  One  or  two  pigs 
and  some  poultry,  which  seemed  not  to  have  had  the  sagacity 
of  their  owners,  remained  behind,  and  soon  fell  victims  to  their 
simplicity. 

The  mill  was  of  the  kind  driven  by  steam-power,  and  was 


314 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


apparently  in  working  condition,  and  a quantity  of  Indian 
corn  in  ear  lay  in  the  building. 

A call  was  made  for  engineers  to  get  steam  up  and  the  mill 
set  agoing,  and  a number  of  men  set  to  shell  the  corn  off  the 
husks.  The  mill  was  soon  at  work  and  a quantity  of  meal 
ground,  and  in  a few  hours  a small  supply  of  meal  was  served 
out  to  each  man.  The  question  now  was  how  to  cook  it ; but 
necessity  is  the  mother  of  inventions.  The  creek  was  a com- 
plete mass  of  stones,  granite  boulders  of  all  sizes.  The  men 
selected  stones  of  a suitable  size  having  a flat  or  hollow  side. 
These  stones  they  propped  up  on  others,  with  the  flat  or  hollow 
side  uppermost.  In  this  hollow  part  they  placed  their  meal, 
and  with  their  canteens  they  took  water  from  the  creek  and 
mixed  up  their  meal  into  dough,  and  the  banks  of  the  creek 
abounding  with  dead  trees  they  took  dry  wood  and  made  fires 
under  and  round  about  the  stones  in  order  that  they  would 
get  hot  and  so  bake  the  mixture  into  bread. 

Along  this  tortuous  creek  for  more  than  a mile  the  stream 
was  lit  up  with  this  primitive  system  of  cooking,  while  here 
and  there  pieces  of  the  unfortunate  pigs  were  being  roasted  on 
the  points  of  sticks,  the  grease,  by  way  of  economy,  being 
dropped  on  the  bread,  while  a pinch  of  salt  would  that  night 
have  been  worth  a general’s  ransom.  Some  had  devoured- their 
bread  when  it  was  little  more  than  warm  through,  not  admitting 
their  impatience,  but  declaring  that  the  food  was  more  nutri- 
tious that  way ; and  it  was  just  as  well  for  them  too,  for  in 
the  midst  of  their  festival  an  alarm  was  got  up  that  we  were 
attacked  by  the  enemy,  and  what  seemed  a firing  was  heard  at 
different  parts  along  the  creek.  The  men  immediately  left 
their  cooking  and  seized  their  arms,  but  it  turned  out  to  be  a 
false  alarm,  and  the  cause  of  it  was  soon  discovered. 

The  large  granite  boulders  on  which  they  were  baking  their 
bread,  having  got  heated,  began  to  expand  and  burst  with 
violent  explosions  equal  to  the  report  of  a musket,  and  as  the 
creek  did  not  run  in  a straight  line,  but  was  so  crooked  that 
very  little  of  it  could  be  seen  from  one  place,  the  reports  were 
heard  in  various  directions  resembling  a firing  of  musketry, 
and  thus  caused  the  alarm.  As  soon  as  the  cause  of  alarm 
was  discovered  a quick  rush  was  made  back  to  save  the  bread 
which  with  the  splitting  of  the  stones  was  thrown  into  the 
fire  and  often  lost  or  picked  up  in  fragments  from  the  ashes. 

This  scare,  like  many  others,  caused  some  fun  and  served 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


315 


the  purpose  of  keeping  up  the  spirits  of  the  men  and  adding 
something  to  their  experience  in  the  way  of  making  bread. 
This  rude  and  scanty  allowance  was  soon  eaten  up.  The  mill 
was  kept  going  till  all  the  corn  that  could  be  procured  was 
ground,  so  as  to  give  something  for  the  following  day  in  case 
the  supply  waggons  did  not  get  forward. 

As  we  were  to  remain  here  for  a day  or  two,  the  mill  and 
the  houses  were  appropriated  for  such  as  were  sick  or  suffering 
from  severe  privation  or  over  fatigue.  Our  company,  remem- 
bering last  night,  determined  to  keep  out  of  the  company  of 
rattlesnakes,  and  gathered  dry  branches,  grass,  and  leaves,  and 
made  a bivouac  among  the  stones  in  the  bed  of  the  creek. 
We  were  cautioned  that  the  creek  might  rise  in  the  night  and 
flood  us  out  or  carry  us  away,  but  we  preferred  water  to 
rattlesnakes,  and  determined  to  chance  it.  Fortunately  the 
creek  did  not  rise,  and  we  got  a good  night’s  rest,  and  those 
who  thought  to  have  a laugh  at  our  expense  were  disap- 
pointed. 

In  the  morning  the  senior  captain  present  having  tempo- 
rarily taken  command  of  the  regiment,  each  orderly-sergeant 
or  other  qualified  officer  was  ordered  to  send  in  a report  of  his 
company,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  and  the  number 
present  for  duty,  and  number  of  rounds  of  ammunition  to  each. 

My  report  was  made  out  so  far  as  I knew  : killed  three  ; 
wounded,  seven ; missing,  1 3,  including  the  captain  and  four 
sent  to  see  after  the  wounded  and  missing  at  the  place  where 
we  had  fought  on  the  seventh,  and  from  whom  we  had  no 
report.  Present,  one  lieutenant,  31  non-commissioned  officers 
and  men,  and  two  emergency  men. 

It  was  found  that  the  total  loss  the  regiment  had  sustained 
in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  was  about  270,  but  some  of 
those  were  supposed  to  have  straggled  and  would  yet  come  up. 

The  emergency  men  were  now  allowed  to  go  home,  and  it 
was  intimated  that  a party  was  going  to  be  sent  to  the  enemy’s 
camp  under  a flag  of  truce  to  negotiate  for  an  exchange  of 
prisoners.  I applied  to  get  on  that  party  and  was  selected. 
The  party,  as  near  as  I can  recollect,  consisted  of  one  field- 
officer  and  two  captains,  with  an  escort  of  one  lieutenant,  two 
sergeants,  and  24  privates.  The  latter  were  detailed  from 
different  companies  ; of  course  some  care  had  to  be  exer- 
cised in  the  selection  of  the  men  for  a mission  of  this  kind, 
and  to  have  them  of  good  appearance,  shrewd  and  discreet. 


316 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  party  was  made  up,  arms  inspected,  men  and  equip- 
ments made  to  show  well,  and  the  party  set  out  about  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  intending  to  reach  the  enemy’s  camp 
before  sunset.  We  found  they  had  fallen  back  from  their 
former  position,  and  had  taken  up  a position  on  the  Keatsville 
road,  nearer  to  the  Missouri  boundary  line.  It  was  near  sun- 
set when  we  approached  their  picket-guard.  On  seeing  the 
flag  of  truce  a party  came  out  to  meet  us  bearing  also  a flag 
of  truce. 

They  insisted  on  the  usual  formality  of  blindfolding  being 
gone  through  as  we  passed  into  their  camp.  Of  course  we 
considered  this  an  absurd  formality  in  a field  camp,  but,  as  it 
was  a mere  form  and  no  actual  blindfolding,  we  acceded  to 
the  ceremony.  By  the  time  we  got  to  their  general  head- 
quarters it  was  dark. 

The  ofiicers  were  received  into  a marquee,  where  they  had  a 
consultation,  and  soon  returned  with  the  intelligence  that 
negotiations  could  not  be  proceeded  with  that  night,  but  that 
the  truce  party  would  be  furnished  with  quarters  and  provi- 
sions for  the  night,  and  negotiations  would  be  proceeded  with 
in  the  morning. 

Some  tents  were  provided  for  our  accommodation,  and  our 
party  on  giving  their  parole  were  allowed  to  accept  the""  hospi- 
tality of  any  mess  that  would  invite  them  to  sup  with  them. 
We  had  abundance  of  invitations,  and  they  treated  us  very 
well,  and  we  spent  quite  a pleasant  night. 

In  the  morning  after  guard  mounting  the  negotiations  took 
place  at  the  head-quarters  of  the  Federal  generals.  The  front 
of  a marquee  was  thrown  open,  and  there  sat  several  officers, 
conspicuous  among  whom  was  General  Siegel. 

General  Siegel  was  a German,  and  had  been,  as  we  under- 
stood, an  officer  in  the  Prussian  army.  He  spoke  with  a strong 
German  accent,  and  seemed  to  be  in  remarkable  good  humour 
as  he  thus  addressed  our  officers  : — 

“ Come  away,  gentlemen,  I am  very  glad  to  see  you.  I 
understand  you  come  to  arrange  about  an  exchange  of 
prisoners.” 

Our  officer  replied  that  he  presumed  that  something  on  this 
subject  had  already  passed  between  them  and  his  superiors, 
and  he  had  only  to  furnish  them  with  a correct  statement  of 
what  prisoners  we  had  in  our  hands ; and  as  he  supposed  the 
number  they  had  of  ours  was  about  equal,  he  would  like  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


317 


get  a statement  of  them  and  their  rank,  that  they  might 
arrange  for  a cartel  of  exchange. 

A list  of  the  prisoners  they  had  of  ours  was  then  produced, 
and  in  it  were  found  the  names  of  Colonel  Hebert,  Major  T., 
the  captain  of  our  company  and  several  other  officers — the 
total  number  being  about  265. 

We  had  of  theirs  about  280,  but  the  proportion  of  officers 
was  rather  less.  We  had,  however,  of  theirs  two  lieutenant- 
colonels. 

Our  officer  now  said  that  he  found  they  had  an  officer  of 
ours  who  exceeded  him  in  rank,  and  he  would  prefer  to  trans- 
fer to  him  the  power  to  negotiate  with  them,  and  arrange  the 
cartel.  But  another  officer,  who  I took  to  be  General  Curtis, 
replied  that  they  could  not  treat  with  a prisoner,  no  matter 
what  his  rank  might  be.  Our  officer  then  proposed  to  arrange 
for  the  exchange  of  Colonel  Hebert,  and  when  exchanged  he 
could  negotiate  with  them.  They  hesitated,  and,  after  some 
consultation,  asked  what  we  proposed  to  give  in  exchange  for 
him.  Our  officer  said  he  was  a colonel,  and  they  had  also  a 
major  of  ours,  while  we  had  of  theirs  two  lieutenant-colonels, 
which  he  considered  would  be  a fair  exchange  for  a colonel  and 
a major. 

General  Siegel,  who  seemed  inclined  to  have  a joke,  now 
replied : — 

“ I admit  that  is  a cartel  acknowledged  by  the  rules  of  war, 
but  there  is  one  other  thing  which  you  must  take  into  considera- 
tion. You  Southerners  say  that  one  Southerner  can  whip 
three  Northerners,  which  means  that  one  Southerner  is  worth 
three  Northerners ; therefore,  it  will  be  necessary  for  you  to 
give  in  exchange  for  your  colonel  three  colonels,  and  for  your 
major  three  majors.^’ 

This  sally  of  General  Siegel,  which  he  delivered  with  the 
utmost  good  humour  in  his  German  accent,  caused  a general 
laugh  and  applause,  in  which  our  officers  joined,  and  who  now 
said  they  would  be  willing  to  forego  that  distinction  at  present 
and  be  valued  upon  equal  terms. 

After  some  discussion,  it  was  agreed  that  the  two  lieutenant- 
colonels  should  be  brought  to  the  Federal  camp  immediately 
and  exchanged  for  Colonel  Hebert  and  Major  T. ; and  then  a 
general  exchange  of  prisoners  would  be  effected,  although  I 
am  not  sure  how  it  was  carried  out,  as  I and  several  of  the 
escort  now  asked  leave  to  go  and  see  our  friends  who  were 


318 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


prisoners.  This  would  not  be  allowed,  unless  we  were  accom- 
panied by  an  officer,  as  no  private  talk  would  be  allowed. 
Oh,  certainly  not,  we  wished  no  private  talk,  and  would 
be  glad  to  have  their  officers  accompany  us.  We  were  per- 
mitted to  go,  several  officers  accompanying  us.  We  rather 
invited  them  to  come  with  us.  The  prisoners  were  glad  to 
see  us,  and  hear  that  they  were  likely  soon  to  be  exchanged. 
There  was  a good  deal  of  laughing  and  joking. 

The  adjutant  of  one  of  the  Arkansas  regiments  was  among 
the  prisoners,  and  he  cried  out,  ‘‘I  hope  you  have  got  an 
adjutant  to  exchange  for  me ; ’’  whilst  another  cried  out,  “ I 
hope  you  have  got  a corporal  to  exchange  for  me ; ” and  one 
cried  out  in  a joking  way,  I hope  you  have  got  a private  of 
the  very  highest  class  to  exchange  for  me.” 

‘‘  Oh,”  said  one  of  the  Federal  officers,  ‘‘  you  must  come 
under  Siegel’s  cartel,  and  we  must  have  three  privates  in 
exchange  for  you,”  and  there  was  a good  deal  of  joking  of  this 
kind.  The  men  said  they  were  glad  that  there  was  a prospect 
of  their  being  soon  exchanged,  although  they  could  not  com- 
plain of  their  treatment. 

A sergeant  of  one  of  the  other  companies  of  our  regiment 
asked  me  when  I thought  they  would  get  free.  I told  "him  I 
did  not  know,  but  I thought  it  would  not  be  long ; but,  seeing 
a Federal  officer  close  by,  listening  to  every  word,  I continued 
talking  seriously,  and  told  him  that  he  must  just  submit  to  it 
for  a few  days ; their  treatment  was  not  so  bad  after  all.  I 
had  seen  the  food  they  were  getting,  and  really,  as  prisoners, 
they  could  not  complain  of  it,  although,  of  course,  it  was  not 
equal  to  the  good  living  they  would  have  if  they  were  with 
their  regiment,  but 

“ Oh,  stop  there,”  cried  the  officer  as  he  laughed  outright, 
that  will  do  for  you.  I expect  our  boys  will  be  fat  when 
they  come  back  from  such  high  living  as  they  will  be  having 
among  the  Confeds.” 

I had  to  laugh  myself,  and  all  around  could  not  help  joining. 
But  the  prisoners  took  the  hint  that  they  were  perhaps  just 
as  well  where  they  were  for  a few  days,  though,  of  course, 
they  always  tried  to  maintain  that  the  Confederate  army  was 
well  supplied  with  provisions. 

We  now  prepared  to  take  our  departure,  and  the  blind- 
folding process  was  again  gone  through,  and  we  were  con- 
ducted beyond  their  pickets,  where  we  bid  each  other  good-bye 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


319 


until  the  next  cannon  shot,  and  we  made  our  way  back  to 
where  we  had  left  our  wretched  and  starving  army  on  the 
previous  day. 

As  we  marched  along  we  could  now  talk  more  freely  of 
what  we  saw  and  thought  of  things  in  the  Federal  camp.  All 
the  others  seemed  to  have  learned  and  observed  more  than  I 
did.  The  enemy  did  not  appear  to  have  regarded  the  issue 
of  the  battle  as  being  very  favourable  to  them ; and  if  as  a 
victory  regarded  it  as  a very  doubtful  one.  They  could  not 
account  for  us  withdrawing  from  the  field,  and  could  not  tell 
where  we  had  gone,  and  throughout  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  and 
part  of  the  9th  they  had  been  expecting  us  to  attack  them 
from  some  other  point,  and  as  soon  as  they  found  that  we 
had  withdrawn  from  their  rear  they  fell  back  to  their  present 
position. 

The  action  of  Van  Dorn  seemed  to  us  inexplicable,  and  it 
was  privately  thought  and  expressed  that  he  had  calculated 
upon  Price  and  McCulloch  to  win  the  battle  for  him,  and  left 
the  actual  conduct  of  the  action  to  them ; and  that  when 
McCulloch  and  McIntosh  were  killed  he  found  the  right  wing 
without  a leader,  although  not  demoralized,  ready  and  eager 
to  fight ; but,  instead  of  taking  command  of  it  himself,  he  left 
it  standing  idle,  while  he  himself  remained  with  Price’s 
division  on  the  left  wing  instead  of  looking  over  the  whole 
field. 

It  was  his  first  battle,  and  he  certainly  could  not  handle  his 
army  after  those  whom  he  had  expected  to  do  it  for  him  were 
killed.  Such  were  the  comments  that  were  quietly  whispered, 
and  perhaps  there  was  some  truth  in  them,  though  of  course 
they  were  not  spoken  openly.  And  Yan  Dorn  had  always 
plenty  to  blow  his  trumpet  for  him,  as  a man  in  power  with 
offices  and  gifts  at  command  seldom  lacks  abundance  of  friends 
and  supporters. 

When  we  got  back  to  the  army  we  were  mortified  that  no 
supplies  had  come,  and  there  was  now  no  likelihood  or  possi- 
bility of  any  coming  by  that  road.  What  was  now  to  be  done  ? 
was  the  question  asked.  We  were  to  proceed  to  Yan  Buren 
across  the  country  the  best  way  we  could.  Price’s  army  had 
already  gone  on  before  us. 

Here  was  a position  to  be  in.  The  distance  to  Yan  Buren 
in  a direct  line  was  about  90  miles.  This  would  have  been 
nothing  if  there  had  been  anything  like  a good  road  and 


320 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


tolerable  weather,  but  to  reach  it  we  might  have  to  traverse 
double  that  distance.  White  River  and  its  many  tributaries 
was  in  the  way.  There  were  no  roads  or  bridges ; the  country 
was  mostly  hills  covered  with  scrub  oaks,  rocks,  rivers,  and 
creeks,  and  very  sparsely  settled,  and  so  poor,  as  some  of  the 
men  expressed  it,  that  turkey  buzzards  would  not  fly  over  it ; 
and  the  weather  had  now  set  in  worse  than  the  dead  of  winter 
— cold  biting  winds,  sleet,  frost,  and  snow.  We  had  no  guide 
to  show  us  the  best  way  to  get  through.  Price’s  army  had 
preceded  us ; but  if  they  did  any  good  by  opening  a path, 
they  would  do  us  a great  deal  of  harm  by  clearing  the  country 
of  everything  that  could  be  eaten  by  man  or  beast,  even  to 
the  last  acorn,  which  seemed  to  be  the  only  thing  which  the 
country  produced. 

But  where  was  the  man  who  had  brought  the  army  into  this 
wretched  predicament  ? Yan  Dorn  had  not  been  seen  since 
the  third  day  after  we  had  left  Boston  Mountain  to  attack  the 
enemy,  and  it  was  whispered  that  he  did  not  want  to  show 
himself  to  the  troops.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I must  say  that  I 
never  saw  him  until  some  two  months  afterwards  at  Corinth. 
Had  he  shown  himself  to  this  division  of  the  army  at  this 
time,  I question  much  whether  he  would  have  been  greeted 
with  enthusiastic  cheers. 

But  this  was  not  our  business;  we  had  now  the  march 
before  us,  and  we  must  undertake  it,  without  provisions, 
without  tents  or  cooking  utensils,  without  blankets  or  over- 
coats, and  our  thin  clothing  now  worn  and  ragged.  I have 
never  seen  or  read  either  in  newspaper  or  history  any  details 
of  this  miniature  Moscow  retreat.  It  was,  perhaps,  one  of 
those  black  or  blurred  pages  in  history  that  is  unreadable,  and 
is  best  to  be  torn  out. 

We  proceeded  to  scramble  along  the  best  way  we  could, 
wading  through  creeks  and  rivers  and  scrambling  over  rocks 
and  through  brushwood.  At  night  we  kindled  large  fires  and 
took  off  our  wet  clothes,  wrung  the  water  out  of  them,  and  dried 
them  the  best  way  we  could.  Occasionally  we  passed  a small 
settlement  from  which  the  inhabitants  had  fled,  but  everything 
had  been  carried  away  by  Price’s  army.  In  the  gardens  we 
sometimes  found  the  remains  of  some  turnips  or  onions,  which 
were  eagerly  dug  out  of  the  ground  with  our  sabres  and  eaten 
raw.  Everything  like  military  order  of  march  was  at  an  end, 
but  the  battalions  and  companies  kept  in  their  places,  and 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


321 


discipline  was  still  maintained,  although  to  leave  the  line  in 
search  of  something  to  eat  could  no  longer  be  strictly  forbidden. 
Several  times  it  was  found  that  we  had  taken  the  wrong  road 
and  had  to  turn  back.  Sometimes  we  passed  through  rather 
better  tracts  of  country  which  had  been  settled,  but  the  few 
settlers  had  all  fled  from  their  homes  and  the  houses  were 
deserted,  and  everything  in  the  shape  of  food  had  been  taken 
by  Price’s  troops. 

One  day  I went  into  the  house  of  a farm  which  seemed  some- 
what of  the  better  class.  I found  it  deserted  and  completely 
gutted,  and  everything  in  the  way  of  food  within  or  without 
the  house  had  been  carried  away,  although  there  were  indica- 
tions of  plenty  having  been  not  long  before.  In  the  kitchen  I 
found  a pail  containing  some  apple-parings,  ofi*  which  I was 
making  a hearty  meal,  while  one  of  our  young  lads  was  scraping 
with  great  energy  the  bottom  and  sides  of  a very  large  pot  or 
boiler  in  which  some  Indian-meal  porridge,  or  mush,  as  it  is 
called,  had  been  boiled  some  days  before,  and  the  cook  had 
humanely  omitted  to  clean  the  pot,  and  had  left  some  porridge 
sticking  to  the  sides.  I looked  down  upon  the  poor  boy ; his 
starved  appearance  and  sunken  eyes  told  how  hunger  and 
privation  were  telling  upon  him. 

“ Well,  how  are  you  getting  on,  Andrew  ? ” said  I. 

Andrew,  who  had  now  polished  the  inside  of  the  pot  and  had 
turned  his  attention  to  the  outside,  where  a quantity  of  the 
stuff  had  stuck  by  the  pot  boiling  over,  looked  up. 

“ Sergeant,”  said  he,  ‘‘I  think  there  is  nothing  in  the  whole 
world  so  good  as  just  cold  mush  ofi*  the  pot.  I think  if  I was 
to  be  the  president  of  the  Confederate  States  I would  have 
plenty  of  cold  mush.” 

“ Andrew,”  said  I,  “ you  would  perhaps  not  then  be  blessed 
with  such  a good  appetite  as  you  have  to-day — but  shut  that 
door  quick ! ” 

A tolerably  good-looking  fowl,  which  seemed  to  have 
escaped  from  the  care  of  its  owner  and  the  tender  mercies  of 
Price’s  men,  and  not  getting  its  usual  food,  had  seen  the  door 
open  and  like  ourselves  sought  the  kitchen  for  something  to 
eat.  But  a fowl’s  necessity  is  sometimes  man’s  opportunity. 
Andrew  quickly  shut  the  door,  and  the  fowl  was  a prisoner. 
Andrew  looked  at  me,  wondering  if  I meant  to  steal  it  after 
the  many  lectures  I had  given  the  boys  against  anything  like 
plundering. 


X 


322 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


“Yes,”  said  I,  “ kill  it,  Andrew,  ’tis  a military  necessity ; if 
the  owner  was  here  I would  pay  him  for  it  in  full,  but  we  must 
have  it.  We  will  roast  it  over  the  camp-fire  to-night,  and  you 
shall  have  a good  share  of  it,  as  I see  you  are  not  out  of  the 
need  of  it.” 

The  fowl  was  soon  killed,  stripped  of  its  feathers,  and 
cleaned  to  make  it  lighter  to  carry,  and  we  started  off  with 
our  prize.  We  had  been  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  company, 
and  we  just  joined  them  as  they  came  up.  Lieutenant  G.  said 
that  as  we  had  been  so  fortunate  there  might  be  something 
more  to  be  got,  as  the  country  here  seemed  to  be  much  richer 
than  what  we  had  been  passing  through  for  the  last  three  days, 
and  showed  some  signs  of  cultivation.  He  suggested  that 
three  or  four  men  should  start  off  on  a tour  to  forage  for  the 
whole  company. 

Four  were  immediately  sent  off  to  get  food,  “ honestly  if  they 
could,  but  at  all  events  to  get  it.”  All  these  sent  were  known 
to  be  good  foragers,  and  if  anything  existed  at  all  in  the 
country,  they  would  not  come  in  empty.  This  was  now  the 
fourth  day  since  we  left  the  stony  creek,  and  the  men  had 
tasted  nothing  but  pieces  of  raw  turnips,  onions,  and  hard,  dry 
Indian  corn. 

This  came  on  a wretched  day,  sleet  falling  which  froze  as  it 
fell,  and  every  branch  and  twig  was  coated  with  ice,  and  our 
rags  were  frozen  stiff  about  us. 

At  last  we  halted  for  the  night,  but  we  had  much  difficulty 
in  getting  fires  started  owing  to  everything  being  wet  and 
coated  with  ice.  Our  officers  always  studied  to  make  the  halt 
for  the  night  where  there  was  plenty  of  old  fence  rails  or  other 
good  firewood,  and  there  was  plenty  here,  and  the  fires,  once 
started,  were  easily  kept  up, 

Andrew  now  produced  his  fowl,  which  I chopped  in  pieces 
with  my  sabre,  giving  him  a good  piece  for  his  share,  and 
giving  some  of  the  weaker-looking  boys  a piece,  which  they 
stuck  on  the  end  of  a pointed  stick  and  roasted  over  the  fire. 
We  now  anxiously  awaited  the  return  of  our  foraging  party, 
and  they  came  in  about  an  hour  after  we  halted.  They  did 
not  come  in  empty.  Their  arrival  caused  both  joy  and  laugh- 
ter. It  never  rains  but  it  pours.  They  were  actually  loaded 
down.  One  carried  two  geese,  a turkey,  a fowl,  and  a piece 
of  bacon;  another  had  a young  pig  and  a bag  filled  with 
turnips  and  potatoes,  and  a haversack  full  of  salt ; the  other 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


323 


two  carried  on  two  sticks  a large  boiler  which  would  hold 
about  50  or  60  gallons,  which  they  had  found  in  the  woods, 
where  it  had  been  used  for  boiling  maple  sugar  or  sorgho. 

The  boiler  was  set  up  on  stones,  water  put  into  it  and  fire 
put  under  it,  and  the  work  of  cleaning  the  pig,  geese,  and 
fowls  was  quickly  gone  through,  and  they,  with  the  bacon, 
turnips,  potatoes,  and  onions,  were  cut  up  and  tumbled  in, 
with  salt  sufficient. 

What  a splendid  mess  they  were  going  to  have  ! Each  man 
generally  carried  a spoon  in  his  pocket,  and  they  began  to  sup 
the  broth  before  it  had  been  boiling  many  minutes.  The  snow 
kept  falling,  but  they  did  not  care ; they  were  now  happy,  and, 
as  usual,  gloom  and  despondency  were  quickly  turned  into  joy 
and  merriment.  They  invited  some  men  from  the  other  com- 
panies to  dine  with  them.  They  packed  the  wood  on  the  fire, 
the  cauldron  bubbled,  and  they  sung  songs  and  danced  round 
it  like  the  witches  in  ‘‘  Macbeth.” 

‘‘  Hallo  ! what  is  all  this  noise  about  1 ” cried  a voice  coming 
up  out  of  the  darkness. 

‘‘  Come  away,  captain,”  cried  a number  of  voices,  as  we 
recognised  Captain  R.,  of  the  artillery.  Come  away  and 
dine  with  us,  captain.  Have  you  got  a spoon  in  your  pocket?” 

“ Ah,  that  I have,  and  I will  dine  with  you,  too.  What  is 
this  you  have  got  ? ” 

“ Oh,  everything,  captain — geese,  turkeys,  pig,  fowl,  turnips, 
potatoes — a regular  stew.” 

“ Good  gracious ! where  on  earth  did  you  get  that  big 
kettle  ? ” 

“ Out  in  the  woods,,  at  a sorgho  mill.” 

“And  how  did  you  get  it  here?” 

“ Carried  it  in.” 

“You  are  the  boys,”  said  the  captain ; “ but  that  stew  is 
splendid,  and  I have  had  a hard  day’s  work.  I have  got  all 
my  pieces  forward.” 

“ Caissons  and  all  ? ” 

“ Caissons  and  all,”  said  the  captain,  “ and  two  extra  pieces, 
but  I had  to  leave  two  behind.” 

“ Had  you  to  leave  two  of  your  guns  behind  ? ” 

“Not  two  of  my  own  guns,”  said  the  captain ; “ but  I 
brought  away  four  pieces  belonging  to  the  enemy,  and  I had 
to  leave  two  of  them  behind  near  the  stony  creek ; the  roads 
were  too  bad  to  take  them  along.” 


324 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


“ How  did  you  come  to  get  four  of  the  enemy guns  ? 

‘‘  I can’t  tell ; I came  across  them  abandoned  as  I was 
coming  away,  and  I tailed  them  on,  but  found  them  too  much 
to  bring  along,  and  had  to  cast  off  two  of  them,  but  the  enemy 
will  never  get  them ; I put  them  where  they  won’t  find  them.’^ 
Did  Price  lose  any  of  his  guns  ? ” 

“ I don’t  think  so.” 

“ Then  we  have  lost  no  guns  at  all  ? ” 

“ No ; we  have  gained  two.” 

“ And  six  that  were  burned  and  two  that  we  spiked,”  said 
we ; that  will  make  12  guns  that  the  enemy  has  lost.” 

“ Of  course  these  two  guns  may  be  unspiked,”  said  the 
captain,  “ but  the  six  that  were  burned  will  have  to  be 
remounted,  and  likely  require  to  be  rebored  or  recast 
altogether.” 

“ Then  they  must  have  had  12  guns  that  were  hors  de  combat 
when  we  withdrew  from  the  field.  What  do  you  think  of  this 
whole  afiair,  captain?” 

“ Oh,  don’t  mention  it ; I don’t  understand  it  at  all.  But  I 
must  away,  and  thank  you  for  this  splendid  supper ; it  is  the 
best  I have  had  since  we  came  out  of  winter  quarters ; ” and 
he  took  his  leave  and  went  to  join  his  corps. 

The  men  hung  round  the  fire  and  smoked ; but  to  get  any 
sleep  was  impossible ; the  sleet  still  fell,  and  they  had  to  keep 
themselves  from  freezing. 

All  were  glad  when  morning  came,  and  we  moved  on  again. 
The  remains  of  the  stew,  being  now  boiled  into  a consistency 
like  glue,  the  men  put  into  their  haversacks,  while  the  grease 
came  through  and  draggled  them  so  much  that  some  remarked 
that,  if  again  reduced  to  a strait,  they  might  boil  their  clothes 
and  get  good  soup  out  of  them. 

It  was  well  for  us  that  we  had  got  that  one  meal  and  some 
of  the  stew  in  our  haversacks,  for  the  whole  of  the  next  three 
days  we  passed  through  a wild,  barren  country  where  there 
was  not  a thing  to  be  had  in  the  way  of  food.  The  1st  brigade 
and  the  artillery  having  now  parted  off  and  gone  by  some 
other  and  longer  route  where  they  could  obtain  forage,  it 
began  to  appear  that  we  had  gone  in  a wrong  direction,  and 
had  to  turn  back  on  account  of  some  river  which  we  could  not 
cross,  and  we  lost  about  two  days’  march. 

About  the  seventh  night  we  halted  on  the  sloping  banks  of 
a creek  which  ran  at  the  bottom  of  a pretty  deep  valley.  On 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


325 


the  near  side  of  the  creek  there  was  abundance  of  dry  grass, 
making  a fine  place  to  bivouac ; and,  what  was  better,  the 
weather  had  suddenly  changed,  and  the  afternoon  and  evening 
were  warm  and  sultry.  We  expected  to  get  some  sleep  to-night 
if  the  pangs  of  hunger  would  allow  us.  How  the  other  com- 
panies were  faring  we  were  not  sure,  but  supposed  they  had 
just  their  little  chances  same  as  ourselves. 

Notwithstanding  the  wretchedness  of  our  condition,  there 
was  throughout  the  whole  of  this  trying  campaign  still  kept 
up  a continual  animation  by  light  merry-making.  Joking  was 
always  the  order  of  the  day.  The  most  disagreeable  and  try- 
ing privations  were  alleviated  and  smoothed  over  by  turning 
them  into  a cause  for  laughter.  If  some  became  sullen  and 
desponding,  there  were  always  some  spirits  who  could  by  some 
comical  expressions  raise  the  merry  laugh  and  incite  good 
humour,  and  put  animation  into  the  men.  At  this  mood 
Lieutenant  G.  was  a perfect  adept,  and  could  excite  mirth  in 
the  most  trying  circumstances. 

When  we  came  to  a halt  this  evening  things  looked  bad 
enough  in  the  way  of  hunger.  The  men  had  a little  dry 
Indian  corn  in  their  haversacks,  which  alone  they  had  been 
chewing  for  the  last  two  days.  Nothing  had  been  picked  up 
on  this  day’s  march,  and  there  was  no  chance  of  anything  to 
cat  for  this  night,  and  the  joke  was  had  recourse  to  again. 
This  time  it  was  to  select  the  fattest  man  in  the  company  to 
feed  the  rest  upon,  and  a good  deal  of  fun  was  being  indulged 
in  about  who  should  be  sacrificed,  when  temporary  relief  came 
from  an  unexpected  quarter. 

About  sunset  a stranger  on  horseback  came  along  enquiring 
for  the  rifle  company  of  the  3rd  Louisiana  regiment.  Who 
could  it  be  ? He  came  up  and  enquired  for  a young  man  who 
had  joined  us  at  Fayetteville  while  we  were  in  winter  quarters. 
The  young  man  was  still  with  us  and  all  right.  This  was  his 
father,  and  he  was  glad  to  find  his  son  all  right ; but  he  had 
heard  of  the  wretched  state  of  starvation  the  army  was  in,  and 
he  had  prepared  two  good  large  bags  of  wheaten  hoe  cake, 
and  laying  them  across  his  horse’s  back,  he  sought  out  the 
army.  He  had  been  three  days  looking  for  the  regiment 
before  he  got  to  us,  and  he  handed  the  bread  to  his  son.  The 
lad  took  out  about  a day’s  ration  for  himself,  and  handed  the 
bread  back  to  his  father  to  divide  among  the  company.  This 
was  divided  over  the  company  with  the  greatest  care  and 


326 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


exactitude,  being  about  half  a pound  to  each  man.  Never 
was  a morsel  higher  prized ; for  of  all  things  for  sustaining 
strength  on  a long  march,  I think  there  is  nothing  equal  to 
unleavened  wheaten  bread.  And  if  ever  a sincere  benediction 
was  bestowed  upon  a man,  it  was  bestowed  upon  that  old  man 
that  night. 

It  had  now  out  of  necessity  become  a question  to  be  con- 
sidered by  us,  as  to  how  the  little  food  we  could  pick  up  could 
be  best  applied,  so  as  not  merely  to  appease  the  cravings  of 
hunger,  but  to  sustain  strength  and  enable  us  to  reach  the  end 
of  our  journey. 

Some  thought  it  was  best  to  be  taken  before  lying  down  at 
night,  as  the  cravings  of  hunger  would  not  prevent  sleep,  and 
while  it  was  being  digested,  the  body  was  both  strengthened 
and  refreshed.  Others  thought  it  was  objectionable  to  start 
on  a journey  with  an  empty  stomach — especially  as  we  had 
always  been  accustomed  to  take  breakfast  before  proceeding  on 
a march,  and  by  doing  that  the  body  was  fortified  and 
strengthened  for  the  day’s  toil. 

I resolved  to  try  the  latter  method,  and  reserve  my  bread 
for  the  followng  morning.  So  I put  it  under  the  breast  of  my 
coat,  buttoned  it  up,  and  having  selected  a comfortable  place 
among  the  dry  grass,  which  we  now  always  took  care  to  beat 
well  from  fear  of  rattlesnakes,  I felt  sure,  from  the  warmness 
of  the  night,  to  get  a good  night’s  rest. 

Overpowered  with  fatigue,  sleep  and  hunger  fought  for  the 
mastery.  I was  asleep,  but  that  piece  of  bread  stood  before 
me,  and  I was  trying  to  grasp  it.  Banquets  of  the  finest  food 
were  before  me,  but  somehow  I could  not  reach  them. 

I found  it  was  no  use.  I thought  I was  just  wasting  the 
only  mild  night  in  which  a little  sleep  might  be  got.  So  I 
rose  up,  took  my  piece  of  bread,  broke  ofi*  about  two-thirds  of 
it,  leaving  a small  piece  for  the  morning,  and  ate  it  as  I 
thought,  in  the  most  judicious  and  economical  way — licking 
the  flour  with  which  it  was  coated  off  my  black  and  dirty 
hands.  I then  took  a drink  of  water  from  my  canteen,  and  a 
smoke,  and  lay  down  again,  and  I was  soon  into  a sweet  sleep. 

I must  have  slept  about  four  or  five  hours,  when  I wa& 
awakened  by  the  rain  pouring  down  in  torrents,  and  a tremen- 
dous thunderstorm,  and  I heard  loud  laughter,  and  shouts  of 
“ Stand  and  take  it.”  Stand  and  take  it,  indeed,  was  the  only 
thing  we  could  do;  anything  like  shelter  was  out  of  the  question. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


327 


The  camp  fires  were  soon  put  out,  and  the  water  ran  down  the 
sloping  banks  of  the  creek  so  deep  that  many  of  us  had  to  get 
up  to  the  high  ground  at  the  top.  Strange  to  say,  plenty  of 
the  men  slept  on,  with  the  terrible  rain  pouring  on  them,  and 
we  were  stumbling  over  them  as  we  made  our  way  up  to  the 
high  ground,  picking  our  way  by  the  aid  of  the  lightning. 

The  storm  continued  for  about  two  hours,  when  it  ceased, 
and  the  men  tried  to  light  fires  again  to  dry  their  clothes,  but 
found  it  impossible ; everything  was  wet,  and  before  any  fire 
could  be  started,  daylight  had  broken,  which  gave  great 
relief,  as  we  longed  to  resume  the  march. 

I may  say  that  the  marching  during  the  day  was  by  far  the 
pleasantest  part  of  it,  for  to  pass  the  nights  when  it  was  too 
wet  or  cold  to  sleep  was  exceedingly  trying. 

When  daylight  came,  and  we  were  about  to  proceed  on  our 
march,  we  found  we  were  in  something  of  a fix. 

Our  line  of  march  was  across  the  creek,  and  we  had  not  followed 
the  rules,  which  was  that  a creek  should  always  be  crossed  and 
the  troops  to  bivouac  on  the  far  side.  This  rule  had  been 
departed  from  at  this  time,  because  on  the  far  side  of  the  creek 
there  was  not  for  some  distance  any  suitable  place  for  bivouac- 
ing,  besides  creeks  here  were  so  plentiful,  and  had  to  be  crossed 
so  often,  that  if  we  got  on  the  far  side  we  were  not  far  from 
the  near  side  of  another.  However,  in  this  case  the  meaning 
or  object  of  the  rule  was  very  well  demonstrated. 

The  creek,  by  the  sudden  storm,  was  swollen  to  a great 
extent,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  cross,  and  we  could  not 
proceed ; and  if  the  enemy  had  been  harassing  our  rear  we 
would  have  been  in  the  same  position  as  the  Israelites  at  the 
Red  Sea.  What  was  now  to  be  done?  No  other  route  was 
possible ; we  were  pressed  by  starvation,  and  no  food  was  to 
be  obtained  in  the  neighbourhood.  It  would  be  at  least  two 
days  before  the  creek  was  passable,  and  if  more  rain  fell  it  was 
quite  uncertain  when  we  might  get  across.  There  was  only 
the  remnant  or  wreck  of  the  2nd  brigade  here,  but  who  was  in 
command  of  it,  or  whether  it  had  any  commander,  we  did  not 
know,  every  regiment  seeming  to  act  for  itself,  and  every  com- 
pany to  act  for  itself. 

After  a consultation  among  the  officers  of  our  regiment,  it 
was  agreed  that  the  regiment  should  separate  and  each  com- 
pany act  for  itself,  and  get  along  the  best  way  they  could  to 
Yan  Buren,  and  there  join  again. 


328 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Each  company  then  started  to  shift  for  itself  as  they  best 
could.  The  novelty  of  the  thing  was  pleasing,  as  they  were  now 
comparatively  free.  Our  company,  amounting  in  the  aggregate 
to  32,  proceeded  by  itself.  We  had  two  axes  which  we  carried 
along  for  cutting  wood  for  fires,  etc.,  but  that  was  all  the  com- 
pany property  we  had  beyond  our  arms.  We  proceeded  along 
the  creek  to  see  if  there  was  any  possibility  of  finding  a place 
where  we  might  effect  a crossing  by  felling  trees  so  as  to  fall 
across  it. 

We  had  some  splendid  fellows  for  such  an  emergency,  who 
could  handle  the  axe  as  well  as  the  rifle,  one  of  whom  we 
called  Canada,  as  he  was  a native  of  that  country. 

Some  gigantic  trees  grew  along  the  edge  of  the  creek  in 
some  places,  and  soon  one  of  them  fell  across  the  stream,  but 
it  went  whirling  away  with  the  roaring  torrent  as  if  it  had 
been  chips.  Another  and  another  was  cut,  but  all  were 
carried  away. 

At  length  we  came  to  a place  where  the  creek  was  narrow 
and  the  banks  high,  but  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  tree 
large  enough  and  sufficiently  near  the  bank  to  fall  across,  and 
at  this  narrow  part  all  were  eagerly  looking  for  a tree  that 
would,  if  felled,  span  the  creek. 

“ Here,  sergeant ! here,  sergeant,”  cried  Tim  D.,  in  great 
ecstasy,  “ here  is  a fine  one.” 

I hastened  to  where  he  was.  “ Where  is  it  ? ” said  I. 

‘‘  Over  yonder,”  said  he,  pointing  to  a tree  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  creek,  “if  we  could  only  manage  to  get  over  to 
cut  it.” 

“You  confounded  fool,”  said  I,  “if  we  could  only  manage 
to  get  over  to  it,  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  us,  because  we  would 
not  want  it.” 

“ What  is  that  T cried  some  one. 

“ Oh,  it  is  one  of  Tim’s  bulls,”  said  I.  “ He  proposes  that 
we  cross  the  river  first,  and  then  cut  a tree  on  the  other  side.” 

“ Throw  him  in  the  river ! ” cried  two  or  three  of  the  boys. 

“ Well,  now,  that  was  not  what  I said  at  all,”  cried  Tim. 
“ I said.  There  is  a fine  tree  over  there,  and  if  some  of  yees 
would  go  over  and  cut  it,  we  would  all  get  over ; and  if  you 
would  just  come  and  see  the  tree,  you  would  say  yourself  that  it 
was  a splendid  one.” 

“ Then,  go  over  and  cut  it cried  two  or  three  of  the  boys. 

At  that  time  Lieutenant  G.  and  Canada,  the  axe-man,  came 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


329 


up ; we  looked  across  at  the  tree  and  pondered.  Well,  certainly, 
if  any  one  was  on  that  side  to  cut  that  tree  it  would  just  fall 
across  and  make  a splendid  bridge.  I wonder  if  there  could 
be  no  means  of  getting  one  man  across  to  cut  it.” 

There  was  a place  a little  farther  down,  where  the  stream 
ran  through  a narrow  chasm,  where  the  banks  were  high  on 
each  side,  and  not  quite  30  feet  from  bank  to  bank,  but  there 
were  no  trees  near  the  place.  It  was  suggested  that  we  might 
get  one  of  the  tall  ash  trees,  which  grew  higher  up  the  bank, 
and  carry  it  down,  and  raise  it  on  end  and  let  it  fall  across, 
and  if  it  did  not  break  it  would  be  strong  enough  for  some 
active  fellow  to  straddle  over  upon,  and  then  we  could  throw 
him  over  the  axe  to  cut  the  tree. 

“ The  very  thing  ! ” cried  Canada,  ‘‘  and  I will  volunteer  to 
cross  on  it.”  And  he  was  off  at  once  to  select  a suitable  ash 
tree. 

One  was  soon  cut  down  and  trimmed,  and  all  hands  carried 
it  to  the  place,  and  a hole  was  dug  in  the  ground  with  our 
sabres  to  put  the  thick  end  into,  while  the  men  got  about  it, 
and  with  the  aid  of  long  forked  sticks  got  it  raised  to  the 
perpendicular ; and  it  was  thrown  across,  and  landed  success- 
fully on  the  other  side. 

The  roaring  torrent  below  looked  rather  trying  to  the  nerves. 

“ Here,  Tim,”  cried  some  of  the  boys,  “ go  over  now  and 
cut  the  tree.” 

Tim  said  he  would  go,  but,  as  he  was  no  axe-man,  he  could 
not  cut  the  tree. 

‘‘  Then  stand  aside,  you  useless  bog-trotter.” 

The  end  of  the  tree  was  firmly  bedded,  and  held  tight  to 
keep  it  from  rolling,  while  Canada  straddled  across,  like 
Blondin,  crossing  Niagara  Falls  on  the  tight  rope.  He  landed 
safely  on  the  other  side,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  boys ; while 
another  immediately  crossed  after  him,  and  we  threw  them 
over  the  two  axes.  Of  course,  they  cried  back  in  a joke,  pre- 
tending to  bid  us  goodbye,  as  they  were  going  to  proceed  on 
and  leave  us,  but  we  could  not  hear  them  for  the  roaring  of 
the  torrent. 

They  both  set  to  work  with  a will  and  the  tree,  a very  large 
one,  soon  fell  across  the  creek,  forming  an  excellent  bridge, 
and  in  a few  minutes  all  had  scrambled  over. 

We  ascended  the  banks  on  the  opposite  side,  where  we 
looked  back  and  saw  some  of  the  other  companies  along  on  the 


330 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


banks,  vainly  searching  for  a place  to  cross.  We  gave  a loud 
cheer  to  attract  their  attention.  There  was  soon  a commotion 
among  them,  and  a cry  of — ‘‘  Hilloa,  the  rifles  are  over  ! ’’ 

We  pointed  in  the  direction  of  where  we  had  crossed,  that 
they  might  see  our  bridge  and  make  use  of  it,  and  we  pro- 
ceeded on  our  way. 

‘‘  Now,  don’t  yees  see,”  said  Tim  D.,  “ that  I was  right  after 
all ; you  talk  about  bulls  and  bog-trotters,  but  if  it  had  not 
been  for  me  you  would  all  have  been  left  behind.” 

“ Why,  what  did  you  do  ? ” 

“ Well,  it  was  my  tree  that  was  the  right  tree,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  the  right  tree  you  might  all  have  been  drowned  in 
the  river,  and  then  you  would  have  said  that  I had  been  right.” 

The  boys  laughed,  but  Tim  did  not  see  what  they  were 
laughing  at.  Tim’s  good  nature  and  simplicity  made  him 
always  a favourite,  and  the  boys  liked  to  joke  with  him. 

The  place  where  we  crossed  was  away  from  any  road  or 
track,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  a tangled  wood  without  any 
knowledge  of  where  we  were  or  which  was  the  proper  direction 
to  take.  The  day  was  dark  and  cloudy,  and  we  could  not  tell 
east  from  west.  The  wood  was  so  tangled  that  we  had  to  cut 
our  way  with  our  sabres.  At  length  we  came  to  a kind  of 
road,  which  we  followed  for  some'  distance  to  a place  where  it 
branched  off  in  a fork,  but  we  did  not  know  which  road  to 
take ; both  were  about  alike.  We  here  held  a consultation 
about  what  was  best  to  be  done,  and  it  was  arranged  to  divide 
the  company  into  two  sections — Lieutenant  G.  to  take  the 
one  half  and  I should  take  the  other  half,  and  search  the 
country  for  food. 

We  therefore  separated,  taking  15  men  each,  and  branched 
off  in  the  different  roads. 

With  such  a small  party  I conceived  it  would  not  be  difficult 
to  pick  up  sufficient  food  to  sustain  us  until  we  got  to  Yan 
Buren  ; but,  as  we  were  so  much  reduced  by  want,  it  was 
necessary  to  get  some  relief  as  soon  as  possible. 

We  seemed  to  have  got  off  the  route  taken  by  Price’s  army, 
as  everything  seemed  in  its  wild  state,  and  no  appearance  of 
an  army  having  passed,  but  still  no  appearance  of  any 
inhabitants. 

At  length  we  came  to  some  signs  of  cultivation,  and  saw  a 
farm-house  at  a distance,  indicating  by  smoke  from  the  chimney 
that  it  was  inhabited. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


331 


As  we  went  towards  the  house  a woman  appeared  at  the 
door,  the  expression  of  whose  face  showed  that  we  were  any- 
thing but  welcome.  I left  my  party  outside  of  the  fence  and 
went  up  to  the  door  and  began  to  represent  our  condition 
but  she  stopped  me  short  and  said  that  she  had  not  a morsel 
for  herself  or  family,  that  Price’s  army  had  taken  everything 
she  had.  I rather  doubted  this,  as  I saw  no  traces  of  an  army 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and  I asked  her  where  Price’s  army  was, 
as  we  were  following  it  and  had  lost  the  road.  She  said  the 
army  did  not  pass  this  way,  but  a party  of  horsemen  came  and 
cleaned  olf  everything  she  had. 

“ They  would  pay  you  in  paper  money,  I suppose,”  said  I. 

‘‘  O yes,”  said  she ; ‘‘  they  gave  me  some  paper  money,  but  I 
can’t  do  anything  with  it.” 

I knew  that  Confederate  scrip  was  already  at  a great  dis- 
count, and  the  country  people  did  not  want  to  take  it,  but 
they  dare  not  refuse  it,  and  I said  that  I wished  to  pay  for 
anything  I could  get  for  my  starving  men,  but  I would  pay  in 
coin  and  not  ask  her  to  take  paper  money,  and  I produced 
some  small  gold  pieces,  which  I showed  her ; but  I said  if  she 
could  not  provide  me  with  anything  we  would  pass  on  and  not 
trouble  her. 

The  sight  of  the  gold  pieces  had  a wonderful  effect  upon  her. 
She  pitied  the  poor  men  and  asked  how  many  were  of  them. 
I told  her  15.  She  said  she  was  just  making  a baking  of  corn- 
bread  to  replace  what  Price’s  men  had  carried  away,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  it  would  be  ready. 

A bargain  was  soon  struck  and  we  were  shown  into  an 
empty  barn,  which,  she  said.  Price’s  army  had  denuded  of  its 
contents,  and  in  a few  minutes  she  brought  in  a large  tray 
heaped  with  hot  corn-bread  and  a large  pitcher  of  milk. 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  delicious,  and  it  is  no  use 
saying  how  the  men  enjoyed  it  while  she  prepared  more. 

Having  made  a most  hearty  repast,  and  another  batch  of 
corn-bread  being  ready,  the  men  put  this  into  their  haversacks, 
and  I handed  her  a 2|  dollar  gold  piece,  and  asked  if  that 
would  do.  With  this  she  was  so  highly  pleased  that  she  ran 
and  got  another  pitcher  of  milk,  and  filled  our  canteens  with  it. 

I then  asked  for  the  road  which  led  to  Yan  Buren.  She 
said  we  were  a good  long  way  from  that  road,  but  her  husband, 
who  now  made  his  appearance,  said  he  would  go  with  us,  and 
show  us  a road  that  would  lead  us  to  it. 


332 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


He  accompanied  us  about  a mile  and  put  us  on  to  a rough 
narrow  road,  by  which  he  said  we  would  get  to  the  Yan  Buren 
road,  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  but  it  was  about  five 
miles  distant. 

We  were  now  in  much  better  condition,  having  had  some- 
thing to  eat  and  something  in  our  haversacks,  and,  although 
we  knew  from  experience  that  corn-bread  did  not  possess  the 
same  strength-sustaining  qualities  as  wheaten-bread,  yet  it  was 
a great  relief,  and  we  were  thankful  for  it,  and  we  proceeded 
with  more  spirit  and  vigour. 

Not  long  after  this,  three  horsemen  came  riding  up  behind 
us,  who  I could  see  to  be  cavalry  officers.  One  of  them  called 
out  to  us  to  halt.  We  did  not  halt,  and  they  rode  up  to  us. 
I turned  round  and  asked  what  they  wanted. 

‘‘  I want  to  know  what  corps  you  belong  to.” 

“We  belong  to  the  3rd  Louisiana  regiment.” 

“And  what  are  you  doing  here*?” 

“ Making  our  way  to  Yan  Buren.” 

“ And  why  are  you  away  from  your  regiment  ? ” 

“Because  the  regiment  was  hemmed  in  this  morning  by 
a,  river  and  could  not  get  across;  they  were  in  starvation 
for  want  of  provisions,  and  the  companies  were  ordered  to 
separate,  and  each  try  to  get  to  Yan  Buren  the  best  way 
they  could.” 

“ 1 understood  supplies  reached  your  regiment  yesterday  ? ” 

“No,  nothing  like  it.” 

“ How  did  you  get  over  the  river  ? ” 

“ Crawled  over  on  a tree.” 

“Well,  you  are  are  away  ahead  of  your  regiment;  go  back 
and  join  it.” 

“I  tell  you  the  regiment  don’t  exist,  it  is  separated  into 
companies,  and  they  are  gone  in  different  directions,  and  I 
can’t  tell  where  they  are.” 

“ Is  that  all  your  company  ? ” 

“ No,  it  is  only  half  of  it.” 

“ Where  is  the  other  half  ? ” 

“ In  charge  of  the  third  lieutenant,  and  by  his  orders  the 
company  divided  and  took  different  roads  in  order  to  find 
something  for  the  men  to  eat.” 

“Oh,  that  is  it,”  said  he,  “then  I order  you  back  to  your 
regiment,  it  is  away  behind.” 

“ Well,  I refuse ! ” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


333 


“ You  refuse,  do  you  ^ ” 

‘‘  I do  refuse.” 

“ Do  you  know  who  I am  ? ” 

“No,  but  I see  by  your  uniform  that  you  bear  the  rank  of 
a Confederate  colonel,  and  that  is  enough  for  me,  but  I refuse, 
and  will  stand  the  consequences.” 

“ Then  I order  you  under  arrest.” 

“ All  right ! ” 

“ I see  you  are  an  orderly  sergeant ; what  is  the  name  of 
your  company  ? ” 

“ Company  K — the  rifle  company.” 

He  made  no  reply,  but  turned  to  go. 

“ Stay,”  said  I,  “ you  have  put  me  under  arrest,  you  must 
take  my  arms,  but  before  I deliver  them  to  you,  you  will 
please  tell  me  who  you  are,  and  by  whose  orders  I am  put 
under  arrest.” 

“ I am  Colonel  Churchhill,  commanding  the  brigade,”  said 
he. 

“ Excuse  me,”  said  I,  “ but  I thought  Churchhill  was  of  the 
1st  brigade  ? ” 

“ Yes,”  said  he,  “ but  commanding  both  brigades  at  present.” 

I handed  him  the  rifle  which  I carried,  and  as  I was 
unbuckling  my  sabre  belt,  I said  I had  not  recognised  him, 
and  if  I had  known  it  was  Churchhill,  I might  have  been  a 
little  more  civil,  but  I thought  it  was  some  of  Pricers  cow- 
footed colonels. 

The  other  officers  laughed,  saying,  “ How  do  you  take  that 
compliment,  colonel  ? ” 

“ Oh,  never  mind  your  sabre,”  said  he. 

“ Oh  yes,”  said  I,  “if  I am  under  arrest  I will  carry  no 
arms.” 

He  hung  the  sabre  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and  was 
going  away. 

“ Stay,”  said  I again ; “ you  are  leaving  these  men  without 
an  officer.  Who  do  you  appoint  to  command  them  ? ” 

“ Let  them  go  and  report  to  their  captain,”  said  he. 

“ Then  they  must  go  to  the  enemy’s  camp  to  do  that.” 

“ Is  your  captain  a prisoner  ? ” 

“Yes.” 

“ Then  report  to  the  lieutenant  commanding.” 

“They  will  do  so  at  Yan  Buren,”  said  I,  “as  that  is  the 
first  place  that  it  will  be  possible  to  find  him.” 


334 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


He  looked  puzzled  for  a moment,  then  said,  ‘‘Very  well,’’ 
and  rode  on. 

The  boys  laughed,  and  I was  pleased  to  be  relieved  from 
duty,  but  the  boys  begged  me  to  lead  them  all  the  same, 
which  I of  course  said  I would  do.  We  now  considered  we 
were  free  to  a greater  extent  than  ever,  and  we  might  have 
roamed  at  will  for  a few  days  if  there  had  been  any  induce- 
ment to  do  so.  We  were  also  glad  to  be  relieved  of  some 
arms  and  accoutrements,  which  were  becoming  heavy  to  some 
of  the  weaker  lads  in  toiling  through  the  rough  country,  and 
we  would  now  have  one  man  light,  who  might  carry  along  any- 
thing we  might  secure  in  the  way  of  food ; and  I took  the  rifle 
and  sabre  from  one  of  the  boys,  who  I saw  was  getting  very 
weak,  and  he  walked  along  lighter,  and  said  that  Churchhill  had 
done  a good  thing  for  him  anyway. 

As  we  walked  along  we  talked  of  the  incident,  and  Sergeant 
L.,  the  fourth  duty-sergeant  who  was  with  us,  thought  I had 
been  a little  pert  in  demanding  from  Churchhill  his  name  and 
authority,  and  wondered  that  he  had  given  it  so  readily,  con- 
sidering the  great  difierence  in  rank.  I told  him  that  I 
considered  that  it  was  my  duty  to  do  so,  and  it  was  his  duty  to 
satisfy  me ; and  that  as  he,  as  fourth  sergeant  of  the  company, 
would  now  be  supposed  to  be  in  command  of  the  party,  I 
thought  it  was  proper  that  he  should  know  that,  isolated  as  we 
were  in  a wild  country  and  the  enemy  near. 

“ I don’t  understand  you,”  said  he ; “ suppose  they  had 
refused  to  say  who  they  were  h ” 

“ Then  I consider,”  said  I,  “it  would  have  been  my  duty  to 
have  made  prisoners  of  them,  and  might  have  ordered  you  to 
cover  them  with  your  rifles  and  ordered  them  to  dismount  and 
surrender.” 

“ 1 wish  you  had,  sergeant,”  said  one  of  the  boys,  “ I would 
have  got  one  of  their  horses  to  ride  to  Van  Buren.” 

“Would  not  that  have  been  rather  a high-handed  act  ? ” 
said  one  of  the  men  thoughtfully,  “ seing  they  were  Confederate 
officers  in  uniform.” 

“ Their  uniforms  were  not  very  well  defined,”  said  I,  “ and 
I have  no  doubt  there  are  men  riding  about  this  country 
similarly  dressed  who  are  not  Confederate  officers,  and  I was 
perhaps  wrong  in  not  demanding  to  know  who  they  w^ere  and 
being  satisfied  with  it  before  I answered  them  a single  question, 
considering  the  wild  and  lonely  place  where  they  met  us.  Of 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


335 


-course  I was  pretty  certain  they  were  all  right,  but  they  might 
have  been  Federal  spies  dressed  as  Confederate  officers,  and 
after  having  told  them  what  I had  about  the  state  of  the  regi- 
ment, it  would  never  have  done  to  let  them  go  without  knowing 
who  they  were.’’ 

“Would  you  have  let  them  go  without  asking  who  they 
were  if  they  had  not  ordered  you  under  arrest?” 

“ Certainly  not ; I would  have  done  very  wrong  if  I had, 
and  might  have  been  court-martialed  for  it.  I saw  my  error ; 
I had  answered  the  questions  out  of  courtesy,  or  rather  without 
thinking,  but  had  determined  to  know  them  better  before  they 
got  away.  I might,  however,  have  recognised  Churchhill,  as  I 
had  seen  him  several  times  before.” 

“Then,”  said  Sergeant  L.,  “ should  we  be  accosted  by  any 
other  party  in  the  same  way,  will  I demand  to  know  who  they 
are  before  I answer  them  any  questions  ? ” 

“ Well,  if  in  the  same  way,  and  far  from  any  other  force,  I 
think  you  should ; or,  if  you  answer  any  questions,  don’t  let 
them  away  without  knowing  who  they  are.” 

“ Well,”  said  he,  “you  keep  the  command  and  talk  to  them 
yourself,  I don’t  want  anything  to  do  with  it.” 

It  was  now  near  dark  and  we  turned  into  a sort  of  by-road, 
thinking  we  might  come  to  a farm  where  we  might  find  some 
place  to  rest  for  the  night.  It  was  not  long  until  we  found 
we  were  approaching  a settlement  of  some  kind,  for  we  came 
to  a cattle-pen  in  which  we  saw  a family  of  fine  young  pigs. 
One  of  these  must  be  secured,  and  not  wishing  to  raise  any 
alarm  by  firing,  we  shut  the  gate  of  the  pen,  leaving  a narrow 
space  for  the  pigs  to  pass  out,  where  one  stood  with  a sabre 
while  the  others  chased  the  pigs  through  the  narrow  pass.  A 
blow  of  the  sabre  nearly  severed  the  head  of  one  from  the  body, 
and  it  fell  without  a squeal.  While  we  looked  for  a place  to 
clean  and  dress  it,  I observed  the  house  at  some  distance,  and 
the  surroundings  showed  the  farm  to  be  a substantial  one,  and 
I saw  lights,  showing  that  the  inhabitants  were  moving  about. 
I thought  that  perhaps  the  best  w^ay  after  all  would  be  to  go 
up  to  the  house,  tell  the  farmer  what  we  had  done,  and  pay 
him  for  his  pig,  and  perhaps  he  would  allow  us  to  sleep  for  the 
night  in  some  barn  or  outhouse. 

I went  up  and  saw  the  farmer,  told  him  what  we  had  done, 
and  ofiered  to  pay  him  for  the  pig.  He  said  we  were  more 
honest  than  some  of  the  troops  that  had  passed ; but  he  would 


336 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


not  take  any  payment  for  the  pig,  and  he  allowed  us  to  sleep 
in  a large  hay-loft  over  his  stables,  where  he  said  we  would  be 
warmer  than  in  a barn,  cautioning  us  to  take  care  of  fire. 

We  kindled  a large  fire,  dried  our  clothes,  which  were  still 
wet  from  last  night’s  drenching  and  to-day’s  scrambling  through 
the  wet  bushes,  roasted  our  pig,  and  with  our  stock  of  corn- 
bread  made  a hearty  supper,  and  put  the  rest  into  our  haver- 
sacks. We  then  went  to  the  hay-loft,  which  was  warm  from 
the  breath  of  the  horses  underneath,  and  we  had  an  excellent 
night’s  rest. 

In  the  morning  our  host  told  us  that  three  or  four  nights 
previous  our  general,  Yan  Dorn,  and  his  stafi*  occupied  the 
same  quarters.  He  said  they  put  their  horses  in  the  stable 
and  then  went  up  to  the  hay-loft,  where  they  drank  whisky 
and  played  cards  the  whole  night.  He  did  not  seem  to  have 
a very  high  opinion  of  the  general  and  his  crowd,  as  he  called 
them,  and  in  truth  neither  had  I,  but  I said  nothing,  and  we 
moved  on  considerably  refreshed  and  invigorated. 

This  day  we  crossed  Boston  Mountain,  but  I do  not  think 
it  was  by  the  same  road  that  we  crossed  it  in  July,  though  we 
were  not  sure,  it  now  being  winter  and  the  face  of  the  country 
very  much  altered. 

I must  not  omit  to  say  that  while  crossing  the  mountain 
this  day,  we  were  sitting  down  taking  a rest  in  the  wood  a 
little  way  from  the  road,  when  one  of  the  boys,  pointing 
towards  the  road,  cried  out,  ‘‘  There  is  Napoleon  crossing  the 
Alps.”  I looked  out  and  observed  a tall,  stately  figure,  with 
a musket  on  his  shoulder,  marching  all  alone  with  a firm, 
quick  step  and  soldierly  bearing. 

There  was  something  so  noble  and  martial-like  in  his  appear- 
ance that  I determined  to  see  who  he  was.  I ran  out  and 
called  on  him  to  halt.  He  turned  quickly  round,  and  I recog- 
nized our  old  friend  Monsieur  Challon  of  the  Iberville  Grays. 
He  was  astonished,  and  glad  to  meet  us.  He  had  got  parted 
from  his  company  by  some  means,  and  thought  they  were  on 
before,  and  he  was  hastening  on  to  overtake  them.  He  was 
much  pleased  when  I told  him  that  I was  certain  they  were 
still  behind,  and  he  came  and  joined  us.  I was  astonished  to 
see  the  old  man  so  vigorous,  and  we  walked  on  together.  I 
asked  him  what  had  become  of  his  friend  and  fellow-traveller, 
Jason.  Oh,  that  is  the  donkee,”  he  said.  He  said  he  had 
left  him  behind  when  we  left  winter  quarters,  and  he  had  not 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


337 


seen  him  since.  He  was  very  sorry  that  he  had  not  been  with 
them  on  this  retreat,  as  he  would  have  been  most  invaluable, 
and  he  would  just  have  liked  to  have  an  opportunity  of  putting 
in  practice  a cherished  idea  of  his  own,  that  donkeys  could  be 
used  with  great  advantage  in  warfare.  He  had,  he  said, 
crossed  the  dry,  sterile  plains  of  Hew  Mexico  and  Colorado 
with  his  donkey,  where  no  other  animal  could  have  travelled. 
A donkey,  he  said,  with  panniers,  could  carry  easily  150  lbs. 
They  could  go  anywhere  where  a man  could  go ; they  could 
be  lifted  over  walls  or  fences,  and  could  swim  rivers;  they 
required  no  care,  but  little  water,  they  did  not  always  need 
grass,  but  could  live  on  thistles,  cactuses,  or  anything  green, 
which  at  the  same  time  served  them  for  water.  In  some  parts 
of  the  world  they  were  to  be  had  in  thousands,  and  he  thought 
that  a thousand  or  so  of  them  attached  to  an  army  marching 
over  a barren  country  would  be  most  invaluable  for  carrying 
water,  provisions,  or  baggage,  and  he  wondered  that  the 
English  had  never  adopted  or  tried  the  system. 

Of  course  I did  not  know  much  about  donkeys ; but  if  they 
were  as  he  described,  I certainly  thought  there  might  be  some- 
thing in  the  idea,  though  I felt  a little  amused  at  the  idea  of  a 
thousand  or  two  of  donkeys  marching  with  an  army.  “ But,’^ 
said  I,  “ looking  at  the  management  of  this  campaign,  don’t 
you  think  that  there  have  been  sufficient  donkeys  connected 
with  it  ? ” 

“ Oh  yes,”  said  he ; “ but  dem  is  de  two-footed  donkee.” 

We  passed  the  night  in  an  old  fodder  shed,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  mountain,  where  we  supped  off  the  remains  of  the  roast 
pig  and  corn-bread  we  had  saved  from  the  previous  day  ; but 
we  had  picked  up  nothing  in  the  way  of  provision  that  day. 

In  the  morning  we  moved  on  again.  Monsieur  Challon 
deciding  to  remain  here  until  his  company  came  up. 

There  was  now  a great  change  in  the  weather.  Of  course  it 
was  getting  well  on  in  March,  but  I again  observed  a marked 
difference  of  the  climate  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the 
mountain.  We  seemed  to  have  come  at  once  into  spring;  the 
buds  were  opening;  the  birds  were  singing,  and  there  was 
quite  a pleasant  change  in  the  atmosphere.  This  also  brought 
up  a still  more  pleasing  reflection;  that  our  time  of  service  was 
drawing  to  a close,  and  the  boys  were  speculating  upon  what 
they  were  going  to  do  when  their  time  was  out. 

We  now  got  on  to  the  regular  road,  and  the  track  of  an 

Y 


338 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


^rmy  was  now  only  too  plainly  visible — every  house  was 
deserted,  and  everything  in  the  shape  of  food  or  forage  was 
carried  away,  and  a good  deal  of  property  seemed  to  have 
been  wantonly  destroyed. 

We  saw  some  stragglers  on  the  road  before  us,  and  we 
hastened  to  overtake  them,  thinking  that  they  might  be  a 
part  of  our  regiment,  or  perhaps  Lieutenant  G.’s  party.  When 
we  overtook  them  we  found  them  to  be  mostly  of  our  regiment, 
but  not  more  than  a dozen  in  all,  and  among  them  were  two  of 
our  company,  from  Lieutenant  G.’s  party. 

Upon  inquiring  how  it  was  with  the  party,  and  why  they 
were  separated  from  it,  they  said  that  Lieutenant  G.  had  heard 
something  about  some  of  the  missing  from  our  company,  and 
that  our  2nd  lieutenant,  B.,  was  lying  very  ill  somewhere,  and 
some  others  were  also  in  distress,  and  he  was  going  to  try 
to  render  them  assistance  ; and  that  he  had  told  these  two 
to  go  and  see  if  they  could  meet  with  our  party,  and  tell  us 
not  to  wait  for  them,  but  to  push  on  to  Yan  Buren. 

The  effects  of  an  army  passing  over  a country  distracted  by 
war  were  now  clearly  to  be  seen.  Be  that  army  friend  or  foe, 
it  passes  along  like  a withering  scourge,  leaving  only  ruin  and 
desolation  behind. 

We  found  it  needless  to  attempt  to  procure  anything  like 
food  on  the  way,  and  it  was  only  a loss  of  time  and  strength 
going  off  the  road  to  look  for  it.  We  therefore  resolved  to 
push  on  and  reach  Yan  Buren  as  soon  as  possible,  as  the  road 
was  now  plain  before  us. 

At  length  we  drew  near  to  the  place.  The  poor  fellows  were 
brightened  up  with  hope,  but  they  were  in  a sorry  plight. 
They  were  actually  staggering  from  want  and  fatigue.  Their 
shoes  were  worn  off  their  feet,  from  passing  over  rocks  and 
boulders,  and  through  creeks.  Their  clothes  were  in  rags  from 
scrambling  through  the  woods  and  briars,  and  burnt  in  holes 
from  crouching  too  close  to  the  camp  fires  in  their  broken 
slumbers.  Their  eyes  were  bleared  and  bloodshot,  from  want 
of  sleep  and  the  smoke  of  the  wood-fires,  and  their  bodies 
were  emaciated  by  hunger.  But  now  their  difficulties  were 
overcome,  and  their  privations  supposed  to  be  at  an  end  for 
the  time  at  least. 

It  was  about  three  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  when  we  entered 
Yan  Buren.  The  place  was  nearly  deserted,  every  house  and 
shop  were  shut  up,  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  army  waggons 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


339 


lying  about  in  disorder.  Very  few  of  our  brigade  had  arrived 
and  they  were  rendezvousing  at  a place  about  two  miles  below 
the  town  near  the  river. 

Some  teamsters  were  hanging  about,  and  I inquired  of  them 
for  the  commissary  department.  I was  directed  to  a large 
corner  building,  which  had  been  a provision  warehouse,  owned 
by  a private  firm,  but  had  been  seized  by  the  commissary,  as  a 
matter  of  convenience.  I at  once  proceeded  there. 

It  was  a large  store,  well  stocked  with  provisions.  A 
commissary  clerk,  in  a half-dazed  state,  was  sitting  with  some 
of  his  friends  near  the  stove. 

I went  and  stated  our  case,  and  requested  rations  for  a 
party  of  18  men,  a part  of  the  3rd  Louisiana  regiment. 

He  said  he  had  no  orders  to  issue  rations  to  us,  and  could 
not  do  it,  unless  I brought  a written  order  from  the  post 
commissary ; besides,  it  was  past  the  hour  for  issuing  rations, 
and  he  was  not  going  to  begin  to  do  so  to  anybody. 

It  was  in  vain  that  I represented  our  case  and  remonstrated 
with  him ; he  would  not  move.  I then  asked  him  who  was 
post  commissary  and  where  I would  find  him.  He  gave  me 
his  name  and  said  I would  find  him  at  the  hotel.  In  the  name 
I recognised  one  of  those  political  agitators  who  had  been 
active  in  bringing  about  the  secession  movement  and  who  had 
now  got  as  his  share  of  the  spoil  a safe,  easy,  and  lucrative 
post,  where  he  would  be  away  from  any  danger  and  where  he 
might  plunder  at  will.  ‘‘  But,”  continued  the  clerk  in  a sig- 
nificant tone,  you  may  save  yourself  the  trouble  of  going,  for 
I know  he  won’t  give  it.” 

If  ever  a devil  arose  in  a man  I think  one  arose  within  me 
at  that  time,  and  I do  not  know  what  length  my  rage  would 
have  carried  me,  when  Canada,  who  was  my  right-hand  man, 
pulled  me  away  and  advised  me  to  be  calm,  reminding  me  that 
I was  already  under  arrest  for  being  a little  too  sharp. 

We  left  the  store  and  went  out  to  the  street,  where  we 
stood,  not  knowing  very  well  what  to  do. 

Just  then  two  officers  came  up — one  of  them  with  his  arm 
in  a sling,  whom  I recognised  as  Lieutenant  M.  of  our  regiment. 
He  had  been  wounded  on  the  first  day  of  the  fighting  and  had 
got  back  by  the  same  route  as  we  had  advanced.  He  inquired 
about  the  regiment,  and  when  I told  him  the  condition  we 
were  in,  he  said  it  would  be  of  no  use  to  go  to  the  post  com- 
missary, for  by  this  time  of  the  day  he  would  be  so  drunk  that 


340 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


he  would  not  know  a pen  from  a pitchfork.  “ But,”  continued 
he,  ‘‘  if  I was  in  your  place  I would  not  want  rations  for  one 
moment ; you  are  in  a starving  condition ; you  are  entitled  to 
them ; the  provisions  are  there,  and  you  have  an  armed  force.” 

I quickly  took  the  hint,  ordered  the  men  to  ‘‘  Shoulder  arms,” 
and  marched  them  up  to  the  commissary^s  store  and  called  to 
the  clerk  in  charge  to  attend. 

“ Have  you  brought  a requisition  ? ” said  he. 

“ Yes,”  said  I,  “in  the  shape  of  an  armed  force,”  and  I 
ordered  him  to  take  a note  of  what  stores  we  took. 

The  clerk,  who  did  not  seem  to  care  much  what  we  did  if  it 
did  not  give  him  any  trouble,  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the 
matter. 

After  witnessing  his  refusal,  I detailed  six  of  the  men  to 
take  what  stores  were  necessary  for  their  immediate  wants. 
“ But  remember,”  said  I,  “ nothing  more  than  what  is  actually 
necessary  for  your  immediate  relief.” 

“ All  right,  sergeant,”  was  the  reply,  and  the  men  proceeded 
to  help  themselves. 

A barrel  of  good  biscuit  was  found,  from  which  a bag  was 
filled.  A good  supply  of  coffee  and  sugar  was  got,  and  two  of 
the  best  hams  they  could  find,  with  some  small  articles,  includ- 
ing soap,  of  which  we  stood  much  in  need,  until  the  six  men 
had  as  much  as  they  could  stagger  under,  which,  as  soon  as 
they  got  away  from  the  store,  was  distributed  more  generally 
over  the  whole  party,  and  we  made  our  way  down  to  where 
the  troops  were  rendezvousing. 

Here  had  arrived,  and  were  still  coming  in,  the  quarter- 
master’s waggons  with  the  baggage  of  the  campaign  as  it  had 
been  left  at  the  different  places — arms,  tents,  spades,  axes, 
pick-axes,  cooking  utensils,  and  other  camp  equipage,  with 
blankets  and  overcoats  that  had  been  thrown  off  and  left 
behind,  all  tumbled  together  in  waggons  or  lying  on  the 
ground  in  confused  heaps,  without  anyone  to  take  charge  of 
them,  and  left  the  prey  of  the  first  that  came  along. 

We  considered  we  were  fortunate  in  being  here  before  the 
main  body  of  the  army,  and  we  quickly  set  about  picking  out 
what  things  we  could  find  that  had  belonged  to  us,  and  also 
what  other  things  the  company  stood  in  need  of,  as  we  knew 
tliey  would  be  picked  up  by  those  who  could  first  secure  them. 
We  were  not  sure  whether  Price’s  army  was  here  or  if  it  had 
gone  on  down  the  river. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


341 


We  secured  some  tents  and  blankets,  some  cooking  utensils, 
and  other  camp  equipage,  and  I was  fortunate  enough  to  find 
my  overcoat,  the  same  that  I had  thrown  oflf  on  the  7th  when 
the  order  was  given  for  the  2nd  brigade  to  strip  for  battle, 
with  some  things  in  the  pockets  just  as  I had  thrown  it  off. 

We  selected  a good  place  for  camping,  pitched  what  tents 
we  needed  for  ourselves,  and  stowed  in  them  some  for  the 
other  part  of  the  company  when  it  came  up,  and  also  some 
blankets  and  cooking  utensils,  and,  having  partaken  of  a good 
supper,  we  retired  to  rest,  and  had  at  last  one  good  night’s 
sleep. 

In  the  morning,  there  being  yet  no  reveille  or  camp  regu- 
lations, one  of  the  first  things  was  to  use  the  soap  which  we 
had  taken  from  the  commissary  and  go  to  the  Arkansas  river 
and  thoroughly  wash  our  blankets  and  clothing  and  our 
bodies,  which  were  completely  ingrained  with  dirt  and  smoke. 
This  was  a matter  of  considerable  labour,  but  fortunately  the 
day  was  fine,  and  the  drying  was  an  easier  process  than  the 
washing. 

After  breakfast,  having  nothing  to  do,  some  of  the  boys 
watched  the  road  for  the  arrival  of  Lieutenant  G.  and  his 
party.  They  came  up  about  two  o’clock,  and  were  conducted 
to  where  we  were  camped. 

It  appeared  that  the  army,  which  after  the  battle  of  the  8th 
had  retreated  through  the  country  round  to  the  northward 
and  eastward  of  Fayetteville,  had  come,  on  the  north  side  of 
Boston  Mountain,  on  to  the  same  road  by  which  the  trains 
and  the  wounded  would  return  from  the  south  side  of  the 
ridge,  where  the  fighting  had  been  on  the  6th  and  7th,  and 
that  Lieutenant  G.’s  party,  after  we  had  parted,  by  keep- 
ing more  to  the  west  than  ours,  had  come  to  this  road  sooner 
than  we,  and  come  up  with  part  of  the  trains  and  got  informa- 
tion that  there  were  to  come  with  the  trains,  or  by  the  same 
road  as  them,  the  wounded  we  had  left  behind  us  on  the  night 
of  the  7 th  and  the  four  men  that  we  had  sent  to  attend  to 
them,  with  some  other  sick  and  stragglers. 

Poor  Lieutenant  B.,  who  was  on  the  quartermaster’s  depart- 
ment, was  not  over  robust  at  best,  and  worn  out  by  toil  and 
privation,  he  had  completely  broken  down  and  had  to  be  left 
behind.  I am  not  sure  whether  he  died  there  or  not,  but  I 
never  heard  more  of  him.  The  other  sick  and  wounded  were 
left  at  places  where  they  would  be  cared  for  in  the  meantime. 


342 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Throughout  this  and  the  following  day  the  rest  of  the  regi- 
ment got  up  and  the  greater  part  of  the  division. 

Captain  G.,  who  was  now  temporarily  in  command  of  the 
regiment,  on  hearing  of  my  arrest,  said  he  would  see  to  it  at 
once,  and  explain  matters.  Churchhill,  he  said,  was  an  officer 
and  a gentleman  (which  he  certainly  was)  and  he  had  no 
doubt  the  thing  would  be  put  right.  He  immediately  went  to 
Colonel  Churchhill,  who  had  just  got  uj)  the  same  day,  and 
after  a little  explanation  returned  and  told  me  that  I was 
relieved  from  arrest  without  censure. 

I was  glad  it  was  arranged,  as  I did  not  know  how  it  might 
be  about  my  having  commanded  an  armed  party  to  take  rations 
by  force  while  I was  myself  under  arrest,  and  I reported  the 
matter  to  Captain  G.  He  said  there  would  never  be  a word 
said  about  that.  All  the  other  companies  had  taken  rations 
in  the  same  way,  as  everything  was  demoralized  and  in  dis- 
order in  the  commissary  department,  but  that  would  soon  be 
set  right. 

The  work  of  reorganising  was  now  set  about  vigorously. 
Pricers  army  had  already  proceeded  towards  the  Mississippi 
River,  on  its  way  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Centre.  The  1st 
brigade  of  our  division  also  proceeded  in  that  direction ; but 
the  2nd  brigade,  and  especially  our  regiment,  was  too  much 
cut  up  and  crippled  to  proceed,  until  some  of  the  wounded  had 
recovered  and  the  missing  stragglers  returned,  and  the 
prisoners,  among  whom  there  were  a good  many  officers,  had 
been  exchanged  and  again  joined  the  brigade. 

Our  regiment  was  ordered  up  to  Fort  Smith,  to  garrison 
that  place  and  recuperate,  and  wait  for  tlie  return  of  the 
colonel,  major,  and  other  officers  and  men,  who  were  prisoners 
in  the  enemy’s  camp. 

We  marched  up  to  the  fort,  and  occupied  the  same  ground 
which  we  had  occupied  in  June  of  the  previous  year,  but 
taking  up  much  less  space  than  at  that  time.  Our  force  was 
now  reduced  to  less  than  500,  or  less  than  half  of  what  we  had 
been  when  here  before.  The  ordinary  routine  of  camp  life  was 
again  resumed.  Company  and  battalion  drill  (things  now 
stale  to  us)  was  gone  through  every  day. 

We  now  discovered  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  we  were 
not  cut  to  pieces  while  fighting  so  long  against  a superior  force 
and  under  such  a tremendous  fire  as  we  had  done  on  the  7th. 

A good  many  of  the  men  of  the  regiment,  on  returning  from 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


34^ 


the  field  that  evening,  had  exchanged  their  arms  for  those  of 
the  enemy ; that  is,  they  had  thrown  down  their  smooth  bore 
muskets,  and  taken  up  the  superior  arms  of  the  enemy  which 
lay  thick  on  the  field.  They  now  began  to  try  their  new 
arms  at  marks  at  60,  80,  and  100  yards,  but  could  not  hit  the 
marks — the  ball  passing  high  over  it.  It  was  now  found  that 
all  these  rifles  had  raised  movable  sights  which  were  set  for 
200  yards,  and  in  no  case  did  the  sights  seem  to  have  been 
altered.  As  we  had  pressed  up  upon  them  that  day,  keeping 
up  to  within  from  40  to  80  yards,  they  seem  to  have  omitted 
to  alter  their  sights,  or  in  the  quick  and  sudden  movements 
amongst  the  trees  and  smoke,  it  would  have  been  rather  a 
difficult  matter  to  always  determine  the  distance  and  alter  the 
sights  to  suit.  The  consequence  was  that  most  of  their  shots 
passed  over  our  heads,  and  this  accounted  for  the  trees  being 
marked  with  shot  so  high  up. 

This  led  to  raised  sights  being  condemned  by  us,  and  they 
were  taken  off,  and  the  line  of  sight  set  to  range  with  the  line 
of  fire  at  about  7 0 yards — it  being  considered  simpler  and  better 
when  the  distance  was  uncertain  and  constantly  changing,  for 
men  acting  upon  the  spur  of  the  moment  to  learn  how  to  aim, 
high  or  low,  according  to  the  distance  as  they  were  now  in 
the  habit  of  doing,  than  to  stop  and  calculate  the  distance  and 
alter  the  sight  for  every  shot. 

Raised  sights,  it  was  considered,  might  do  very  well  for 
sharpshooters,  or  in  circumstances  where  the  object  was  single 
and  continued  fixed,  and  time  could  be  taken  to  calculate  the 
distance,  and  set  the  sight  to  suit  it ; but  the  hurry-skurry 
of  the  battle,  in  front  of  an  enemy  rushing  to  and  fro,  was 
not  a very  good  place  for  making  nice  calculations,  and 
movable  sights  were  there  quite  useless  and  in  the  way. 

We  had  been  here  only  some  four  or  five  days,  when  our 
officers  and  men,  who  had  been  prisoners  with  the  enemy,  being 
exchanged,  returned  and  joined  the  regiment. 

The  reason  so  many  field  officers  were  taken  prisoners  on 
the  7th  was  as  had  been  suspected.  After  the  death  of 
McCulloch  and  M‘Intosh,  they  had  gone,  one  after  another,  to 
communicate  with  the  1st  and  3rd  brigades,  and  find  out  why 
they  did  not  come  to  support  us,  and  they  had  just  walked 
into  that  part  of  the  enemy^s  force  which  we  had  cut  off  and 
left  behind  on  our  right. 

They  had  much  to  tell  of  their  experience  in  the  enemy’s 


344 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


camp ; and  what  they  had  gleaned  in  the  way  of  information 
was  something  the  same  as  we  had  heard  before — that  the 
3nemy  was  astonished  at,  and  could  not  account  for,  us  with- 
drawing from  the  held,  and  was  expecting  us  to  attack  them 
again,  and  if  we  had  continued  the  hght  for  a little  longer, 
they  would  have  been  completely  defeated. 

Of  this  ill  devised  and  still  worse  conducted  campaign  and 
battle,  I have  seen  very  few  detailed  accounts  given,  and  any 
that  I have  seen,  seemed,  from  my  point  of  view,  to  be  very 
evasive  and  inaccurate. 

What  the  losses  were  on  either,  side  I never  learned.  I 
have  seen  many  contradictory  accounts,  but  I doubt  if 
anything  like  a correct  account  was  ever  given.  On  the  part 
of  the  south,  I am  certain  it  was  reported  at  a great  deal  less 
than  it  actually  was.  This  was  no  doubt  to  cover  the  blunder 
and  satisfy  public  opinion,  but  I doubt  if  any  correct  estimate 
could  be  formed,  as  there  was  a large  number  of  emergency 
men  whose  names  were  not  on  the  roll.  Some  of  these  were 
killed  or  disappeared  among  the  missing,  while  some  remained 
with  the  army,  and  were  enrolled  as  members,  and  took  the 
place  of  some  of  the  regular  men  who  were  missing. 


CHAPTER  XXI Y. 


DEPARTURE  FROM  FORT  SMITH  TO  JOIN  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CENTRE— ARRIVAL 
AT  LITTLE  ROCK  — THE  CONSCRIPT  ACT  — ARRIVAL  AT  MEMPHIS  — NEWS- 
PAPER ACCOUNTS  OF  THE  WAR— ARRIVAL  AT  CORINTH— PREPARATION  FOR 
A GREAT  BATTLE  WHICH  DID  NOT  TAKE  PLACE — EXPIRATION  OF  OUR  TERM 
OF  SERVICE — BATTLE  OP  FARMINGTON. 

A DAY  or  two  after  the  officers  and  men  who  had  been 
exchanged  had  returned  to  duty  we  were  ordered  with  all  the 
remaining  troops  of  the  Army  of  the  West  to  proceed  to 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  join  the  Army  of  the  Centre. 

We  were  not  to  be  taken  down  the  river  as  we  had  come, 
but  were  to  march  by  land  as  far  as  Little  Rock  at  least. 

The  distance  by  the  road  to  Little  Rock  was  about  250 
miles,  but  20  miles  in  a day,  if  the  roads  were  anything  good, 
was  now  to  us  mere  child’s  play,  if  we  had  trains  to  supply  us 
with  food  and  tents  and  blankets  to  enable  us  to  sleep  at 
nights. 

We  left  Fort  Smith  about  the  28th  of  March  and  reached 
Little  Rock  in  about  13  days. 

When  we  got  opposite  Little  Rock  we  learned  that  the  road 
from  there  to  Memphis  was  perfectly  impassable,  and  that  it 
was  quite  impossible  to  get  there  by  the  land  route.  Price, 
who  was  most  indefatigable  in  his  exertions,  had  taken  his 
army  that  way,  but  had  to  leave  a large  part  of  his  baggage 
trains,  and  some  of  his  artillery  sunk  in  the  mud  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  “ Des.  Ark,”  and  since  then  the  Missis- 
sippi had  risen,  and  much  of  the  country  and  the  roads  were 
flooded.  It  was  quite  evident  that  the  Mississippi  must  be 
very  high,  as  the  Arkansas  river  was  very  high  at  Little  Rock, 
from  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  backing  up. 

There  was,  therefore,  no  help  for  it,  and  we  were  ordered  to 
camp  where  we  were  and  wait  until  transport  steamers  could 
be  sent  to  take  us  by  water  to  Memphis.  We  were  camped 
on  the  north  or  left  bank  of  the  Arkansas  river,  opposite 
Little  Rock.  There  was  no  town  or  houses  on  this  side  of 
the  river,  but  a large  and  substantial  ferry-boat  plied  back 


346 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


and  forward  to  maintain  the  connection  of  the  roads  which 
passed  through  at  this  part. 

Colonel  Hebert,  who  still  commanded  the  brigade,  had  with 
his  staff  taken  up  his  head-quarters  at  the  principal  hotel  in 
Little  Rock. 

On  the  day  after  our  arrival  I was  sent  to  his  head-quarters 
with  reports  and  a statement  of  some  articles  in  the  way  of 
clothing  for  the  men,  which  were  supposed  to  be  obtainable  in 
Little  Rock. 

I made  myself  as  clean  as  possible,  as  I would  be  going 
again  into  civilisation. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  I got  over,  and  when  I 
presented  the  papers  the  colonel  looked  over  them,  but  said  it 
would  be  too  late  to  do  anything  that  night,  and  I might  wait 
until  the  morning,  and  he  ordered  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel 
to  furnish  me  with  accommodation  for  the  night. 

I was  supplied  with  a good  room,  but  the  idea  of  being 
under  a roof  in  a carpeted  room  and  soft  bed  was  too  much  of 
a change.  I could  not  realise  it,  and  got  but  little  sleep.  At 
every  turn  in  my  sleep  the  soft  bed  under  me  woke  me  up  to 
a sense  of  my  strange  position. 

In  the  morning  I got  up  early  and  had  a ramble  through 
the  city.  The  war  had  not  yet  seriously  affected  this  place, 
except  so  far  as  the  stock  of  merchandise  was  concerned.  All 
kinds  of  Northern  or  European  goods  were  very  scarce  and 
dear — in  fact,  scarcely  obtainable  : this  was  of  course  owing 
to  the  blockade.  The  traffic  in  this  class  of  goods  seemed  to 
be  here  now  as  it  was  in  the  South  throughout  the  war,  chiefly 
confined  to  the  children  of  Israel.  These  gentlemen  seemed 
to  have  international  communication  by  some  secret  system 
known  only  to  themselves,  by  which  information  was  trans- 
mitted and  the  integrity  of  officials  weighed  in  the  balance, 
and  the  price  of  that  integrity  secretly  ascertained,  and  the 
‘‘  goots,’^  as  they  called  the  merchandise,  found  their  way  across 
the  lines  through  secret  and  intricate  channels,  and  were  stored 
away  in  unfathomable  recesses. 

Isaac  seldom  had  much  of  value  in  his  store  to  sell  under 
the  ordinary  way  of  traffic  for  Confederate  scrip  ; such  goots,” 
he  would  tell  you,  were  unknown  within  the  Confederate  States, 
owing  to  the  cursed  blockade,  but  the  confidential  exhibit  of  a 
few  gold  pieces  would  often  bring  from  the  vasty  deep  the 
articles  you  desired. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


34T 


At  this  time,  April,  1862,  the  dearth  of  Northern  and 
foreign  goods  had  not  got  to  the  extreme  in  the  Confederate 
States,  and  there  were  still  some  to  be  had,  although  scarce  and 
dear. 

I bought  some  shirts  and  underclothing  for  myself,  of  which 
I stood  in  great  need ; and  having  got  a special  requisition 
from  the  colonel  to  the  quartermaster,  I got  some  clothing  for 
the  men  of  the  company,  which  I got  taken  over  to  the  camp. 

The  town  was  now  beginning  to  fill  up  with  officers,  and 
such  privates  as  could  obtain  passes  were  crossing  from  the 
camp  to  the  town,  to  have  a look  at  civilisation  and  city  life 
once  more.  But  this  was  cut  short  by  the  arrival  of  the 
transport  steamers,  and  we  were  quickly  called  upon  to  strike 
tents  and  embark. 

At  this  time  there  came  a piece  of  news  which  very  much 
damped  the  spirits  of  the  men  of  our  regiment  at  least.  This 
was  an  intimation  of  the  passing  by  the  Confederate  Congress, 
at  Richmond,  of  the  Conscript  Act,  whereby  every  citizen  of 
the  Confederate  States  between  the  ages  of  18  and  35  was 
made  subject  to  military  duty,  and  could  be  called  into  service; 
and  all  troops  enlisted  or  mustered  into  the  service  for  short 
periods  should  be  continued  in  the  service. 

This  was  a great  disappointment  to  the  men  of  our  regiment, 
which  was  altogether  composed  of  men  who  had  volunteered 
for  one  year  only,  and  had  been  mustered  in  for  that  period, 
and  were  now  looking  forward  to  getting  home  for  a little  rest 
after  their  privations. 

There  is  no  question  but  nearly  every  one  of  the  men  upon 
recuperating  a little  after  their  toil,  and  spending  a few  weeks 
with  their  friends,  would  have  again  joined  the  service,  as 
nearly  every  one  had  done,  who  had  hitherto  been  discharged 
on  account  of  wounds  or  sickness,  and  had  subsequently 
become  fit  for  service.  < 

The  Conscription  Act  was  now  the  general  topic  and  formed 
the  subject  for  conversation  on  the  passage  from  Little  Rock 
to  Memphis,  and  several  copies  of  the  act  were  in  circulation. 
Most  of  the  men  emphatically  declared  that  they  would  wil- 
lingly serve  any  length  of  time  as  volunteers,  but  they  would 
never  serve  in  the  degraded  position  of  a conscript. 

I got  a copy  of  the  act  and  looked  over  it.  I saw  that 
regiments  enrolled  for  one  year  might,  by  continuing  as  they 
were,  remain  as  volunteers,  with  the  privilege  of  electing  their 


348 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


own  officers.  That  any  one  subject  to  military  duty,  or  already 
in  the  service,  might  be  exempted  by  furnishing  a substitute ; 
such  substitute  not  being  subject  to  military  duty,  and  ap- 
proved by  the  proper  authority. 

The  next  clause  directly  affected  my  own  position,  which 
was  that — 

‘‘  Foreigners,  who  are  not  citizens  of  the  Confederate  States, 
and  who  shall  not  have  acquired  domicile,  shall  not  be  subject 
to  military  duty,  and  shall  be  discharged  at  the  expiration  of  their 
original  term  of  enlistment,  by  order  of  their  brigade  com- 
mander. The  question  of  domicile,  however,  shall  be  a ques- 
tion of  law,  and  not  to  be  determined  on  the  oath,  or  opinion, 
of  the  parties.’’ 

It  seemed  to  strike  me  that  one  of  the  principal  motives  for 
providing  this  last  clause,  by  which  I would  be  exempted,  was 
to  make  provision  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  preceding  clause 
in  regard  to  substitutes.  There  were,  undoubtedly,  a great 
many  men  of  wealth  and  political  influence  within  the  limits  of 
the  prescribed  ages  whom  it  would  not  be  politic  to  press  into 
service,  and  to  exempt  the  rich  would  cause  dissatisfaction ; 
and  they  would  not  be  able  to  find  offices  for  all  those  possessed 
of  political  influence,  and  if  those  possessing  wealth  or  political 
influence  desired  to  purchase  substitutes,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  have  some  suitable  men  to  form  such  substitutes. 

The  act  certainly  caused  great  dissatisfaction  among  the 
troops  that  had  been  enrolled  for  one  year  only.  These  of 
course  constituted  but  a small  portion  of  the  army,  as  by  far 
the  greatest  portion  of  the  troops  had  volunteered  for  the  war, 
and  it  did  not  affect  them  in  any  way,  except  so  far  as  it  might 
be  supposed  that  in  retaining  all  the  troops  in  the  service,  and 
adding  as  many  more  as  possible,  it  would  bring  more  men  to 
their  aid,  and  push  on  the  war  sooner  to  an  end,  if  they  expected 
to  obtain  their  object  of  independence  by  force  of  arms.  But  the 
volunteers  were  opposed  to  the  principle  of  the  act,  and  con- 
sidered that  men  forced  compulsorily  into  service  were  of  little 
value  and  would  only  be  an  incumbrance — and  I believe  they 
were  right.  It  no  doubt  caused  a good  many  who  had  not  yet 
joined  the  service,  and  who  were  hesitating,  to  volunteer  at 
once,  whilst  they  had  the  opportunity  of  getting  into  volunteer 
regiments,  but  I never  knew  of  a single  instance  of  any  of  the 
old  volunteer  regiments,  though  reduced  to  perfect  skeletons, 
being  patched  up  by  the  addition  of  conscripts.  In  fact  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


349 


old  volunteers  protested  against  the  admission  of  conscripts 
into  their  corps. 

Some  of  us  rejoiced  over  the  idea  that  it  would  catch  up, 
and  bring  into  service,  these  political  loafers  who  had  been 
such  rabid  secessionists,  and  who  had  so  bounced  about  fighting 
before  the  war,  and  aided  in  bringing  it  about,  but  not  one  of 
whom  had  ever  entered  the  army.  These  demagogues  always 
contrived  to  evade  the  duty  in  one  way  or  another.  Some  of 
them  who  had  vaunted  that  they  would  go  to  the  enemy’s  lines 
and  fight,  if  they  went  single-handed,  did  go  to  the  enemy’s 
lines,  but  not  to  fight,  but  to  take  refuge  for  fear  that  they 
would  be  conscripted.  Others,  more  of  the  class  of  Govern- 
ment minions,  managed  to  get  some  low  ofiice,  such  as  hunting 
up  conscripts,  and  every  small  country  town  or  village,  far 
away  from  the  din  of  war,  was  filled  with  those  drunken, 
swaggering  loafers  dressed  in  gaudy  Confederate  uniforms 
hunting  up  conscripts.  In  fact,  I believe  it  took  more  men 
to  enforce  the  act  than  what  they  obtained  by  it ; and  those 
who  were  forced  into  service  only  had  the  effect  of  filling  up 
the  hospitals,  and  I know  that  out  of  7000  who  were  sent  to 
the  Central  Army  at  Corinth,  over  3000  of  them  were  on  the 
sick  list  before  a fortnight ; but  of  this  I will  say  more  here- 
after. 

There  were  also  a few  of  the  more  far-seeing  and  broad-minded 
that  could  see  in  the  act  just  a slight  advance  towards  despotism, 
but  of  course  such  an  idea  could  not  be  breathed  openly. 

We  arrived  at  Memphis  about  the  18th  of  April.  Memphis 
was  a good  sized  city,  and,  like  Vicksburg,  Natchez,  and  other 
towns  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  it  is  situated  on 
high  bluffs  overlooking  the  river.  It  had  not,  however,  been 
fortified  in  any  way. 

Here  was  assembled  a large  body  of  troops  who,  like  our- 
selves, did  not  know  where  they  were  going.  This  was  a 
central  place,  and  we  were  to  remain  until  further  orders. 

We  got  newspapers  here  with  all  the  news  and  accounts  of 
the  war  for  the  last  three  months.  These  accounts,  however, 
all  seemed  to  have  been  carefully  prepared  by  the  different 
newspapers  under  the  most  approved  Government  inspection, 
and  put  up  expressly  for  public  use.  Each  paper  at  the  same 
time  boasted  of  the  free  and  independent  way  in  which  they 
expressed  their  sentiments,  and  congratulated  themselves  and 
the  people  of  the  South  on  the  glorious  liberties  which  they 


350 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


enjoyed  in  always  having  the  freedom  of  the  press,  the  great 
lever  of  human  liberty,  preserved  inviolate. 

Some  of  us,  however,  knew  what  the  material  was  composed 
of,  and  just  swallowed  what  we  thought  was  sufficient.  Of 
course  only  Confederate  successes  were  recorded.  Fort  Henry 
and  Fort  Donelson  had  been  taken  by  the  enemy,  but  then 
they  were  of  no  use,  and  their  loss  would  not  be  felt.  Island 
No.  10  had  also  fallen,  but  that  was  altogether  in  consequence 
of  the  river  rising  to  an  unusual  height ; there  might  be  some- 
thing in  that.  In  one  paper  a glowing  account  was  given  of 
Van  Dorn’s  brilliant  successes  in  the  west.  He  had  stopped 
McCulloch’s  retrograde  movement  and  advanced  boldly  to  the 
Missouri  line,  and  got  into  the  rear  of  the  Federal  army  at 
Pea  Hidge,  and  was  driving  them  southward  before  him  like 
a flock  of  sheep,  although  in  a later  issue  it  was  admitted 
that  Van  Dorn  had  found  out  that  General  McCulloch  and 
General  McIntosh  and  other  officers  had  been  killed,  and  from 
want  of  them  his  right  wing  had  got  somewhat  demoralised, 
and  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  give  up  the  pursuit,  and 
hasten  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Centre.  There  was  also  some 
accounts  of  the  Federal  navy,  which  was  reported  to  have 
been  expending  its  force  along  the  coast,  and  had  taken^  some 
small  forts  which  were  of  little  or  no  consequence,  but  it  had 
now  entered  the  Mississippi,  where  every  ship  would  certainly 
be  smashed  to  pieces  by  the  gallant  General  Duncan  command- 
ing Fort  Jackson  and  Fort  St.  Philip. 

But  the  latest  and  most  exciting  news  was  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  which  had  been  fought  about  two  weeks  previous,  in 
which  the  Confederates  had  gained  a great  victory,  and  had 
driven  the  enemy  back  into  the  Cumberland  River  and  taken 
many  of  their  guns,  but  by  some  means  they  had  been  obliged 
to  fall  back  again  to  Corinth,  where  they  were  now  stationed, 
and  where  it  was  supposed  the  Army  of  the  West  would  join 
them.  Of  course  those  glowing  newspaper  accounts  were 
believed  by  some,  but  others  knew  what  allowances  to  make. 

Taking  the  news  all  in  all  was  not  reassuring.  The  fair  of 
Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  and  Island  No.  10,  was  a great 
disaster,  and  the  enemy’s  gunboats  might  be  expected  down  at 
Memphis,  which  was  not  fortified ; and  if  Fort  Jackson  and 
Fort  St.  Philip,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Mississippi,  fell,  the 
cause  might  be  considered  lost,  as  New  Orleans  and  the  whole 
of  the  Mississippi  River  and  its  tributaries  would  be  in  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


351 


hands  of  the  enemy,  and  under  control  of  their  gun-boats, 
which  seemed  to  be  their  chief  source  of  success,  and  against 
which  the  Confederates  were  utterly  powerless.  No  care  had 
been  taken  to  provide  proper  defences  on  the  water,  although 
the  Confederate  territory  was  largely  intersected  by  navigable 
rivers,  and  there  was  not  now  another  fortified  position  on  the 
river,  although  there  was  some  talk  of  fortifying  Vicksburg. 

It  was  now  the  subject  of  conjecture  whether  we  were  to 
fortify  and  defend  Memphis,  or  to  go  and  join  Beauregarde’s 
army  at  Corinth. 

Memphis  was  an  important  place  from  its  position  on  the 
Mississippi,  and  had  railway  communication  with  Charleston, 
Mobile,  New  Orleans,  Vicksburg,  and  other  places  in  the 
South,  and  if  the  advance  down  the  river  of  the  Federal  gun- 
boats could  be  here  arrested,  the  communication  to  the  west 
by  the  Arkansas  River  would  still  be  preserved,  which  would 
be  lost  if  the  standpoint  was  made  as  far  down  as  Vicksburg. 

But  Corinth  was  still  more  important,  for  here  the  Memphis 
and  Charleston  railway  crossed  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railway, 
and  from  the  latter,  at  a place  called  Meridian,  some  distance 
south  from  Corinth,  lines  branched  off  to  Jackson,  Vicksburg, 
New  Orleans,  and  Mobile.  If  Corinth  should  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Federals,  Memphis  would  be  cut  off  from  inland 
communication  and  be  of  comparatively  little  value. 

Our  conjectures  were  soon  set  at  rest  by  orders  to  proceed 
at  once  to  Corinth,  a great  battle  being  immediately  expected, 
and  we  were  conveyed  there,  a distance  of  about  40  miles, 
inside  and  on  the  top  of  railway  freight  trucks. 

When  we  got  to  Corinth  we  found  an  immense  army  assem- 
bling to  meet  the  combined  armies  of  Grant  and  Buel,  under 
General  Halleck.  It  sounded  strange  to  us  that  this  General 
Halleck,  who  now  held  such  an  important  command  and  over 
such  men  as  Grant  and  Buel,  should  be  the  same  that  about 
six  months  before  had  been  so  out-generaled  and  driven  back 
upon  St.  Louis  by  our  poor  General  McCulloch  with  his  small 
force,  who  never  rose  higher  than  a brigadier-general,  but  fell 
in  battle  and  his  name  all  but  forgotten. 

In  a few  days  after  our  arrival  preparations  were  made  for 
a general  battle ; the  enemy’s  forces  were  said  to  be  drawn  out 
in  order  of  battle  about  four  miles  from  Corinth.  A great  bustle 
it  was;  our  army  amounted  in  all  to  about  110,000  men;  the 
enemy’s  force  was  supposed  to  amount  to  about  140,000. 


352 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


After  standing  in  order  of  battle  for  several  hours  in  a 
heavy  rain,  it  seemed  doubtful  if  there  was  going  to  be  any 
battle  that  day,  and  we  were  sent  back  to  camp,  with  orders 
to  be  ready  to  fall  in  at  a moment’s  notice. 

The  next  day  the  same  thing  was  re-enacted,  but  still  the 
fight  did  not  come  off. 

On  the  fourth  day  we  were  ordered  to  be  fully  prepared, 
because,  if  the  enemy  did  not  attack  us,  we  should  advance  and 
attack  them,  and  we  were  certain  the  battle  would  come  off 
this  day.  When  it  comes  to  the  verge  of  battle  there  is  not 
much  pleasure  in  the  suspense,  and  the  men  are  impatient  till 
the  battle  comes  off,  and  they  were  now  getting  tired  of  this 
delay.  The  wet  weather  and  the  constant  trampling  of  horses 
and  artillery  had  got  the  place  into  a fearful  state  with  mud. 

We  advanced  to  where  the  enemy’s  line  had  been  formed, 
but  found  they  had  fallen  back,  so  it  was  just  the  old  story — 
ordered  back  to  camp  again.  The  men  were  dissatisfied,  and 
grumbled  at  being  called  out  so  often  to  no  purpose ; and  here 
I noticed  for  the  first  time  for  several  months  our  old  friend 
Dan.  He  was  not  now  carrying  his  knapsack,  and  whether 
he  still  maintained  his  principles  on  the  whisky  question  or 
not  I do  not  know,  but  he  was  still  as  contrary  and  pugi\acious 
as  ever,  for  he  stood  out  and  said  he  would  just  be  d — d if  he 
was  going  back  to  camp.  He  had  come  out  here  for  a fight, 
and  he  was  going  to  have  it.  He  said  he  got  nothing  to  eat 
when  he  did  go  to  camp,  and  he  was  not  going  to  be  wearing 
his  shoes  going  back  and  forward  this  way  for  nothing.  I 
looked  at  Dan’s  shoes ; the  sole  was  gone  off  one  of  them,  and 
the  other  was  torn  down  on  the  one  side  and  tied  with  strings, 
and  his  naked  foot  protruded  through  it. 

Whether  Dan  was  persuaded  or  coerced  to  go  back  to  camp 
I do  not  know,  as  our  company  had  to  move  on. 

We  found  it  very  different  here  from  what  it  had  been  with 
us  in  the  Army  of  the  West.  There  we  could  see  and  com- 
prehend all  the  movements ; the  army  was  small  and  well  in 
hand,  and  the  different  corps  fell  into  their  places  quickly  and 
without  confusion. 

There  was  a constant  changing  of  positions  in  this  camp ; 
troops  were  coming  in  from  all  quarters.  The  whole  of  the 
Confederate  forces,  with  exception  of  the  Army  of  Virginia, 
were  being  concentrated  at  this  point.  A large  portion  of  the 
army  was  composed  of  raw  troops  and  conscripts,  who  neither 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


353 


could  be  trained  nor  wanted  to  be  trained,  but  lumbered  up  the 
way,  and  for  every  three  or  four  of  them  there  was  a com- 
missioned officer,  some  wealthy  man’s  son  or  Government 
minion  for  whom  the  Conscript  Act  was  no  doubt  in  a great 
measure  intended  to  provide  employment,  and  they  had  obtained 
commissions,  but  they  were  as  raw  and  ignorant  of  military 
matters  as  the  conscripts  themselves,  and  possessed  only  a fair 
share  of  conceit  and  effrontery. 

These  gentlemen  and  their  commands,  when  a sudden  call  to 
the  front  was  made,  were  sure  to  be  in  the  way,  getting 
jumbled  up  and  in  the  way  of  the  older  corps  as  they  were 
hurrying  to  the  front,  and  they  had  to  be  placed  somewhere  to 
prevent  confusion,  but  in  fact  the  most  of  them  were  soon 
located  in  the  hospital,  commissioned  officers  and  all. 

For  a considerable  time  after  our  arrival  here  it  was  a con- 
tinuation of  alarms,  constantly  turning  out  and  forming  in 
order  of  battle,  but  never  beyond  a few  exchanges  of  artillery 
fire  and  an  occasional  skirmish  with  small  arms  did  it  come  to 
anything. 

The  object  of  both  armies  seemed  to  have  been  to  act  on  the 
defensive,  each  trying  to  draw  the  other  on  to  the  attack.  It 
was  a continuation  of  feint  attacks  by  our  side  or  repelling  of 
attacks  by  the  enemy,  which  also  turned  out  to  be  feints.  Of 
this  we  were  getting  heartily  tired. 

I sometimes  thought  this  keeping  of  the  troops  in  constant 
motion  and  the  prospect  of  a gigantic  battle  before  them  was 
to  give  them  no  time  for  reflection  or  brooding  over  the  great 
disaster  which  had  befallen  the  Confederacy,  the  news  of  which 
could  now  no  longer  be  kept  from  them. 

This  was  in  the  penetration  of  the  enemy’s  fleet  into  the 
Mississippi,  the  fall  of  New  Orleans,  and  the  whole  of  the 
Mississippi  Fiver  now  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  All  this  had 
occurred  in  spite  of  the  well-known  importance  of  the  position, 
and  the  disastrous  effects  to  the  Confederacy  should  it  be 
forced.  Its  supposed  impregnability  and  the  ample  means 
furnished  to,  and  the  great  confidence  reposed  in,  those  to 
whom  the  defence  was  entrusted  made  the  disaster  most  dis- 
couraging. 

The  news  came  like  a thunder-clap  upon  the  men,  and  most 
of  them,  I believe,  regarded  it  as  the  death-knell  of  the  Con- 
federacy. 

The  accounts  were  of  course  garbled,  and  the  matter 

z 


354 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


accounted  for  in  the  most  plausible  way,  and  set  forth  as  of 
little  consequence  and  would  yet  be  turned  to  the  advantage 
of  the  Confederacy.  The  army  was  now  thickly  studded 
with  minions  of  the  Government  in  the  uniforms  of  captains 
and  lieutenants,  in  sinecure  offices,  in  the  departments,  and  in 
and  out  of  the  hospitals,  whose  chief  business  seemed  to  be  to 
keep  up  a show  of  enthusiasm  in  favour  of  the  Government, 
and  drown  by  arguments  and  threats  any  criticism  on  the 
disgraceful  management  and  poor  defence  of  the  place,  and 
every  effort  was  made  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  men  from 
the  subject.  Of  course  a good  many  did  not  see  the  impor- 
tance of  the  disaster,  and  were  persuaded  and  satisfied. 

A number  of  troops  were  now  sent  off  to  occupy  and  fortify 
Vicksburg,  which  it  was  supposed  would  counteract  the  con- 
sequences of  the  disaster  to  some  extent. 

It  was  now  into  the  month  of  May,  and  our  term  of  service 
was  expired,  but  so  great  was  the  commotion,  and  the  expected 
battle  on  hand,  that  the  subject  was  not  brought  up.  Our 
colonel  had  been  made  a brigadier-general,  and  was  away  from 
the  regiment.  Both  Lieutenant-Colonel  H.  and  Major  T.  had 
resigned  and  retired ; they  were  both  aged  men  and  their 
health  was  failing.  The  former  had  not  been  with  us  since  we 
had  left  winter  quarters.  The  regiment  had  been  without  any 
regular  commander  since  Pea  Ridge,  sometimes  one  captain 
and  sometimes  another  commanding  it. 

On  a slight  lull  taking  place  in  the  commotion,  the  subject 
was  brought  up,  and  we  were  told  that  the  regiment  would  be 
dealt  with  as  a regiment,  and  not  by  companies  as  they  entered 
the  service,  and  therefore  the  time  of  service  would  expire  on 
the  17th  of  May,  that  being  the  date  on  which  the  regiment 
was  organised. 

It  was  now  the  5th  of  May,  and  we  were  told  there  was  to 
be  a battle  on  the  following  day.  Whether  the  intimation  of 
the  battle  was  to  stir  up  the  men  and  stop  any  discussion  on 
the  subject  I do  not  know,  but  a battle  was  intended,  and  did 
take  place  to  a certain  extent. 

In  the  evening  the  same  old  order  was  sent  round — three 
days’  cooked  rations,  and  60  rounds  of  ammunition,  and  be 
ready  to  march  at  daybreak.  The  three  days’  cooked  rations 
were  superfluous  and  might  have  been  left  out  of  the  order,  but 
the  order  was  carried  round  and  delivered  quietly  to  each 
company,  which  betokened  that  something  was  intended. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


355 


At  daybreak  the  whole  division  was  under  arms  and  march- 
ing to  the  front ; whether  the  whole  army  moved  or  not  we 
did  not  know.  We  seemed  to  be  kept  well  to  the  right, 
making  way  at  times  to  allow  the  artillery  to  pass  on.  About 
1 1 o’clock  our  company  was  deployed  in  front  of  the  regiment, 
to  form  a part  of  a line  of  skirmishers. 

About  noon  we  heard  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  and  we  were 
ordered  to  press  up  quickly,  in  the  direction  of  where  we  heard 
the  firing.  Shortly  afterwards  we  heard  the  crackling  of  small 
arms,  and  we  soon  came  upon  the  extremity  of  the  enemy’s 
left  wing.  We  were  soon  hotly  engaged  with  them,  they 
falling  back,  as  usual,  and  we  kept  following  them  up,  to  keep 
them  at  short  range. 

We  were,  however,  ordered  to  be  cautious,  and  advance 
slowly,  lest  we  should  come  under  the  sweep  of  our  own 
artillery,  which  was  firing  direct  towards  the  front ; while  we 
seemed  to  have  turned  their  left  wing,  and  were  following 
them  up  towards  the  centre.  After  a short  engagement  here 
we  were  ordered  to  halt,  the  enemy  in  our  front  having  disap- 
peared in  the  smoke.  The  firing  in  our  front  was  now  for 
some  time  very  heavy,  though  very  little  of  it  came  our  way. 
After  waiting  for  some  time  we  were  ordered  to  advance  again, 
to  press  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  who  were  falling  backwards 
towards  a swamp  in  their  rear,  where  they  shortly  all  disap- 
peared— and  the  battle  was  over — the  artillery  still  continuing 
to  send  some  shells  after  them  into  the  swamp. 

On  following  them  we  found  that  there  was  a part  of  the 
swamp  where  the  water  was  deep  and  impassable,  and  over 
which  there  was  a substantial  bridge,  newly  erected,  over 
which  some  of  our  men  had  passed,  while  our  artillery  was 
raking  the  woods  on  the  opposite  side. 

Here  was  discovered  a bit  of  Yankee  enterprise  and  perse- 
verance. On  the  opposite  side  of  the  swamp  much  of  the 
timber  had  been  cut  down  and  a portable  saw-mill  erected ; 
there  was  also  a telegraph  station,  with  line  of  wire  extending 
northwards,  and  probably  towards  their  headquarters. 

It  was  now  plain  to  be  seen  that  the  enemy  had  intended  to 
advance  their  left  wing  and  obtain  a commanding  position  on 
our  right  flank,  which  Beauregarde  considered  to  be  protected 
by  this  swamp,  and  they  had  in  an  incredibly  short  time 
brought  up  and  erected  this  portable  saw-mill,  felled  timber, 
sawed  it  up,  and  erected  this  bridge.  They  had  got  over  it 


356 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


about  20,000  men,  and  some  heavy  guns,  and  were  establishing 
themselves  in  a commanding  position.  This  being  known  to 
Beauregarde  he  awaited  the  proper  time  and  made  this  sudden 
attack.  Having  captured  the  guns  and  driven  the  enemy 
back  across  the  bridge,  the  saw-mill  was  destroyed,  and  the 
bridge  burned. 

This  battle,  which  was  called  the  Battle  of  Farmington  from 
the  name  of  the  place,  was  of  no  great  proportions  and  has 
been  very  little  noticed.  Nevertheless,  it  was  more  decisive  in 
its  character,  and  the  results  of  more  importance  than  either 
Shiloh  or  Pea  Ridge. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  Federals  was  stated  by  the 
Confederate  newspapers  to  be  about  800  killed,  and  the 
Confederates  about  300  killed.  That  may  have  been,  but 
from  what  I saw  on  the  field,  I do  not  think  there  was 
anything  like  that  number.  Several  hundred  prisoners  were 
taken,  some  fine  heavy  siege  guns,  several  hundred  stands  of 
arms,  and  a large  quantity  of  camp  equipage  fell  into  our 
hands.  The  advance  of  the  enemy  on  our  right  flank  was 
checked,  and  they  would  be  compelled  to  change  their  tactics 
in  that  direction. 

We  remained  on  the  field  for  some  time  awaiting  orders. 
The  place  where  the  enemy  had  camped  was  being  cleared 
and  the  ground  was  strewn  with  debris.  Knapsacks,  clothing, 
newspapers,  letters,  and  other  small  articles  lay  scattered  about. 
I picked  up  and  examined  some  of  the  letters.  They  were 
mostly  all  headed  with  some  patriotic  motto,  and  a great  many 
printed  cards  were  enclosed  or  lay  scattered  about  bearing 
emblematic  figures  and  inscriptions,  such  as  female  figures 
pointing  to  Fort  Sumter  with  the  words : “ Sumter  first, 
peace  afterwards.”  Others  with  the  emblem  of  the  Union — the 
eagle  and  the  motto,  “ E pluribus  unum,”  with  the  words  : 
“ Fight  for  the  Union  and  the  Union  only,”  and  many  similar 
representations,  but  never  one  having  the  slightest  reference 
to  the  question  of  slavery. 

The  field  was  soon  cleared  of  the  guns,  arms,  tents,  and 
other  material  which  had  been  captured,  and  a party  was 
detailed  to  bury  the  dead,  and  we  were  ordered  back  to  camp 
again,  with  the  intimation,  this  time,  that  we  had  done  all 
that  we  had  come  to  do. 

As  we  passed  over  the  rising  ground  which  had  been  the 
position  the  enemy  had  been  trying  to  gain  and  occupy,  I 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


357 


observed  Beauregarde,  Bragg,  and  one  or  two  other  generals 
in  conversation.  They  seemed  to  be  taking  a survey  of  the 
position.  The  two  former  I had  known  in  Louisiana  previous 
to  the  war.  I would  scarcely  have  known  them  now,  they 
had  got  so  much  older  in  appearance — especially  Beauregarde. 
Two  years  before  when  I had  last  seen  him,  his  hair  and  beard 
were  black  as  jet — they  were  now  nearly  white. 

It  had  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  Federal  army  would 
not  advance  far  from  the  Cumberland  River,  where  they  were 
supported  by  their  gunboats,  which  had  saved  them  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh ; and  if  the  Cumberland  river  fell,  as  it  was 
certain  to  do  as  the  summer  advanced,  the  gunboats  would 
have  to  withdraw  and  run  down  to  the  Mississippi,  and  then 
we  could  attack  them  with  more  advantage,  but  the  advance 
at  Farmington  which  we  had  repulsed,  showed  that  idea  to  be 
fallacious. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 


KEORaANISATION  OF  THE  REGIMENT— DISPOSITION  OF  THE  FORCES  AT  CORINTH 
—THE  DIFFERENT  GENERALS— FALL  OF  MEMPHIS— HARSH  MEASURES  OF 
BRAGG— THEIR  EFFECTS— DISAFFECTION  IN  THE  ARMY— THE  CONFEDERACY 
ON  THE  VERGE  OF  COLLAPSE— RE-ESTABLISHED  BY  THE  ACTS  OF  BUTLER  IN 
NEW  ORLEANS  — STRENGTHENED  BY  GENERAL  LEE  — CORINTH  CLOSER 
INVESTED— CONSTANT  FIGHTING— EVACUATION  OF  CORINTH. 

A FEW  days  after  the  battle  of  Farmington,  an  order  was 
issued  to  the  3rd  Louisiana  Regiment,  that  as  their  term  of 
service  was  about  expired,  they  would  now  come  under  the 
Conscript  Act,  and  those  subject  to  service  under  that  act 
would  be  conscripted  for  further  service.  But  in  considera- 
tion of  the  gallant  services  performed  by  that  regiment,  and 
the  high  honours  which  it  had  gained,  the  general  command- 
ing was  desirous  that  its  name  should  be  preserved,  and  that 
it  should  continue  organised  as  a regiment,  and  that  as  a 
tribute  to  the  men  composing  it,  they  should  be  allowed  the 
privilege  of  re-organising  and  re-electing  their  officers,  and  con- 
tinue on  the  same  footing  with  the  other  volunteer  regiments 
which  had  volunteered  for  the  war ; and  such  of  the  members 
who  were  not  subject  to  conscription  should  serve  until  the  15th 
of  July,  when  they  would  be  discharged  in  terms  of  the  act. 

The  men  had  no  choice  but  to  accept  the  conditions  ; they 
would  have  liked  to  have  got  a week  or  two  to  go  to  see 
their  friends,  but  they  knew  that  if  the  regiment  was  dis- 
banded, they  would  never  get  beyond  the  lines  of  the  camp, 
but  be  pressed  as  conscripts,  which  was  of  all  things  the  most 
detestable.  They  knew  that  as  volunteers  they  had  at  least 
some  little  standing  and  respect,  and  by  having  the  election  of 
their  officers,  had  some  voice  in  the  general  conduct  of  the 
service. 

As  conscripts  they  would  be  serfs,  having  neither  respect 
nor  rights ; would  be  domineered  over,  and  kicked  about  by  a 
set  of  puppies  appointed  by  the  War  Department,  men  possess- 
ing no  other  qualification  for  their  office,  or  knowledge  of 
duty,  beyond  brazen  efirontery,  depraved  principles,  and  apti- 
tude for  performing  any  kind  of  despicable  service  to  main- 
tain favour  with  or  support  a party  in  power. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


359 


The  men — or  at  least  the  most  far-seeing  of  them — saw  that 
the  only  chance  they  had  of  retaining  even  the  faintest  spark 
of  that  liberty  and  independence  which  had  been  their  birth- 
right and  boast,  was  now  to  adhere  together  as  a volunteer- 
regiment,  and  they  decided  at  once  on  a matter  in  which  they 
had  no  choice. 

The  re-election  of  officers,  which  was  no  doubt  thrown  out 
as  a sop  to  the  men,  and  in  this  case  was  also  extended  to  the 
non-commissioned  officers,  was  not  very  gratifying  to  the 
officers.  There  were  no  doubt  a great  many  commissions 
vacant,  which,  small  as  the  strength  of  the  regiment  was, 
might  be  filled  up,  but  it  was  never  expected  that  a re-election 
would  take  place. 

The  officers  had  served  a year  in  their  respective  positions, 
and  were  now  to  take  the  chance  of  being  turned  out  by  a new 
election,  which  was  exceedingly  probable,  not  from  any  un- 
popularity, but  on  the  old  cherished  democratic  principle  of 
rotation  in  office. 

I was  on  very  friendly  terms  with  most  of  the  officers  of  the 
regiment,  and  had  whiled  away  the  time  on  many  a dreary 
night  round  the  camp  fires  by  discussing  amongst  other  sub- 
jects political  economy  in  general,  and  the  forms  of  govern- 
ment of  difierent  nations  as  compared  with  American  institu- 
tions as  they  were  called. 

This  doctrine  of  rotation  in  office  I held  to  be  peculiarly 
American,  and  I did  not  approve  of  it,  on  the  ground  that  it 
kept  always  inexperienced  men  in  office,  because  the  incum- 
bents were  turned  out  just  as  they  were  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  duties  of  their  offices.  In  this  opinion  I took  my 
stand  almost  alone ; nearly  all  were  opposed  to  me,  maintain- 
ing that  rotation  in  office  was  based  upon  justice  and  equal 
rights  to  all. 

When  this  order  for  a re-election  of  officers  was  issued  it  in 
a manner  threw  all  the  officers  and  privates  again  on  an 
equality.  The  officers  of  course  held  their  commissions  and 
rank,  and  could  retire  altogether  if  they  wished  ; but  they  did 
not  consider  the  system  wise  or  just,  and  thought  it  rather  a 
singular  way  of  promotion. 

I,  in  a half-joking  way,  reminded  them  of  the  justice  and 
equitable  rights  of  rotation-in-office  principles,  but  they  did 
not  see  it  just  in  the  same  light. 

The  most  of  the  officers  retired  and  did  not  ofier  themselves 


360 


LIFE  IX  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


as  candidates  for  re-election.  All  the  field  officers  were  already 
gone,  and  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  the  high  tone  of  disin- 
terested principle  which  had  been  so  conspicuous  at  the  original 
formation  of  the  regiment,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  army,  was 
now  considerably  modified.  Office  was  now,  not  only  sought 
after,  but  it  was  hinted  that,  in  some  cases,  it  had  actually 
been  sneaked  after — a thing  supposed  to  be  regarded  with 
abhorrence  among  the  volunteers ; and  it  was  openly  asserted 
that  little  cliques  had  been  got  up  in  the  different  messes  of 
some  of  the  companies  by  aspirants  to  a lieutenant’s  com- 
mission. 

When  the  election  took  place  in  our  company  our  captain 
retired,  and  was  not  a candidate. 

Lieutenant  G.  was  elected  captain,  and  our  1st  lieutenant 
remained  as  before , but,  beyond  this,  the  election  was  a mere 
farce.  Two  lieutenants,  one  orderly  sergeant,  four  duty 
sergeants,  and  four  corporals  had  to  be  elected ; and  the  whole 
strength  of  the  company  was  about  39.  Of  these  eight  were 
to  be  discharged  on  the  1 5th  of  J uly,  under  the  act,  and  took 
no  part  in  the  election,  and  several  were  absent  on  detached 
service,  while  several  declined  to  vote  after  the  captain  and 
1st  lieutenant  had  been  elected ; so  that  the  voting  was  left 
almost  exclusively  to  the  candidates  themselves.  I must  say, 
however,  that  throughout  the  regiment,  notwithstanding  the 
principle  of  rotation-in-office,  wherever  an  old  incumbent 
offered  himself  as  a candidate  he  was  invariably  elected. 

The  regiment  was  now  re-organised  and  new  field  officers 
elected — these  were  elected  by  the  line  officers — a new  staff 
appointed ; but  as  most  of  the  other  companies  were  reduced, 
like  our  own,  the  regiment  was  a mere  skeleton. 

As  I was  going  to  leave,  of  course,  I was  not  a candidate 
for  the  office  of  orderly  sergeant,  and  this  placed  me  in 
rather  a peculiar  position.  Not  having  a commission,  I could 
not  retire  from  the  service  without  obtaining  a discharge ; and 
on  consulting  with  the  captain  and  some  of  the  other  officers 
of  the  regiment,  it  was  considered  that  I should  get  a discharge 
at  once,  under  the  clause  in  the  Conscript  Act  providing  for  the 
discharge  of  aliens  at  the  expiration  of  their  original  term  of 
enlistment.  The  necessary  form  was  made  out  and  signed  by 
the  captain,  and  I went  to  the  colonel  and  presented  it. 

Colonel  A.,  who  had  just  been  newly  elected  to  the  command 
of  the  regiment,  was  a relation  of  our  late  respected  and 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


361 


lamented  General  McCulloch.  He  had  been  an  officer  in  the 
United  States  army,  and  was  a thorough  soldier. 

On  my  presenting  the  application  to  him  he  was  somewhat 
embarrassed,  and  did  not  seem  inclined  to  grant  a discharge 
under  that  clause,  which  might  be  establishing  a precedent,  as 
it  was  probably  the  first  that  had  been  applied  for,  and  he 
would  like  to  have  some  instructions  as  to  the  full  meaning  of 
the  clause.  He  pointed  out  to  me  that  I could  claim  no 
exemption  as  a neutral  foreigner,  as  I had  already  taken  an 
active  part  in  several  battles  and  had  violated  neutrality,  and 
referred  me  to  the  Queen’s  proclamation.  I told  him  I had 
not  seen  the  Queen’s  proclamation  until  I had  been  enlisted 
and  bound  by  an  engagement  to  the  Confederate  States  for  a 
period  of  one  year,  from  which  I could  not  resile,  and  that  I 
had  been  refused  a commission  because  I would  not  become  a 
citizen ; and  I now  considered  that  I had  faithfully  fulfilled 
my  engagement  to  the  Confederate  States,  and  I trusted  they 
would  do  the  same  by  me.  He  admitted  that  I had  done  my 
part  well  and  faithfully,  and  for  that  reason  he  would  do  the 
best  he  could  for  me,  but  he  said  his  position  was  rather  a 
difficult  one  in  the  matter.  He  would  not  like  to  be  the  first 
to  establish  a precedent  which  might  be  the  means  of  thinning 
the  ranks  of  the  army,  as  if  one  discharge  was  granted  under 
this  clause,  he  had  no  doubt  there  would  be  30  applications 
from  amongst  the  different  companies  of  the  regiment  within  a 
week,  which,  in  the  present  condition  of  affairs,  would  be  a 
very  serious  matter ; and  he  must  get  some  instructions  in 
regard  to  this  clause.  He  trusted  I would  see  the  justice  of 
his  remarks ; in  the  meantime  he  would  do  the  best  he  could 
in  the  matter,  and  would  lay  it  before  the  brigade-commander, 
and  I would  have  an  answer  in  a day  or  two. 

I asked  him  what  I was  to  do  in  the  meantime.  If  the 
question  of  violating  neutrality  was  to  be  brought  up  in  the 
way  he  had  pointed  out,  I would  not  be  justified  in  taking  up 
arms  after  I was  free  of  my  agreement  unless  it  was  under 
compulsion  ; and,  further,  what  position  would  I now  be  in  h 
I was  no  longer  orderly-sergeant.  I would  not  serve  in  the  ranks 
unless  disrated  by  a court-martial,  and  could  not  draw  rations 
except  in  some  capacity.  He  pondered  a little  and  said  that  he 
did  not  well  see  how  that  was  to  be  got  over,  but  the  only  way 
he  saw  I might  not  like,  which  was,  that  he  would  formally 
order  me  under  arrest  or  suspension  in  the  meantime,  and 


362 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


unless  I could  propose  some  other  arrangement,  he  had  no 
other  alternative.  I saw  no  other  alternative  myself,  and 
agreed.  He  said  all  I had  to  do  was  to  go  to  my  captain 
and  report  myself  under  arrest,  and  he  would  explain  the 
matter. 

To  be  under  arrest  or  suspension  on  such  conditions  was  not 
considered  either  as  a disgrace  or  a punishment,  but  a simple 
suspension  from  duty,  and  as  I was  under  no  restrictions,  I 
rather  enjoyed  it  as  a relaxation  from  duty  and  a holiday.  I 
had  now  an  opportunity  of  roaming  over  the  extensive  camp  of 
the  whole  army  and  studying  the  position. 

The  object  and  disposition  of  the  forces  under  the  different 
generals,  as  far  as  I could  make  out,  was  to  hold  the  position 
of  Corinth,  where  converged  different  railway  lines. 

In  front  was  a line  leading  to  the  north  through  Tennessee, 
being  part  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railway.  This  line  of 
course  was  blocked  by  the  enemy’s  forces  stretched  across  it. 
On  the  right  was  a line  leading  through  North  Alabama  and 
Georgia,  on  to  Charleston.  On  the  left  a line  to  Memphis. 
On  the  south  in  the  rear,  was  a line  leading  to  Meridian,  and 
from  thence  to  Mobile,  New  Orleans,  Yicksburg  and  other 
parts  in  the  south. 

The  centre  and  head-quarters  of  the  army  was  at  the  small 
town  of  Corinth,  at  the  railway  junction,  fronting  north ; 
while  the  right  wing  stretched  out  to  the  eastward  on  the 
Charleston  line  for  about  four  miles,  and  the  left  wing 
extended  to  the  westward  on  the  Memphis  line,  for  about 
the  same  distance;  while  to  the  rear  along  the  railway  line, 
southwards,  was  a reserve  force.  This  is  a rough  sketch  of 
the  outlines  of  the  camp.  The  tents,  of  course,  were  pitched 
in  the  most  suitable  places  for  the  health  and  convenience  of 
the  troops. 

To  the  north,  and  in  front  of  this,  was  a defence  line  which 
was  occupied  by  an  advanced  guard.  This  line  was  in  the 
form  of  a semi-circle — the  centre  being  about  four  miles  in 
advance  of  the  head-quarters,  while  on  the  right  and  left 
respectively,  it  rested  upon  or  crossed  the  Memphis  and 
Charleston  railroad.  This  advanced  line  was  about  14  miles 
in  length,  and  was  constantly  occupied  by  an  advanced  guard 
of  about  16,000  men,  and  several  batteries  of  artillery,  each 
regiment  taking  its  turn  of  guard  duty  on  this  line  for  48 
hours  at  a time. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


363 


Beyond  this  line,  about  a quarter  of  a mile  in  advance,  was 
a line  of  picket-stations,  and  from  these  advanced  posts  were 
maintained. 

The  whole  army  was  under  command  of  General  Beauregarde ; 
and  of  his  subordinate  generals,  commanding  the  different 
army  corps,  there  were  on  the  centre.  General  Bragg  and 
General  Breckenridge ; on  the  right.  General  Yan  Dorn  and 
General  Price ; on  the  left.  General  Hardy  and  General 
Little.  Under  these  were  many  major-generals  and  brigadier- 
generals  without  number. 

There  were  no  doubt  alterations  in  these  arrangements  from 
time  to  time,  but  this  was  about  the  arrangement  as  near  as  I 
could  arrive  at. 

For  me  to  presume  to  give  any  opinion  on  the  merits  and 
abilities  of  those  generals  might  be  deemed  presumption,  but 
I may  give  an  outline  of  the  general  estimation  in  which  they 
were  held  by  the  troops,  as  far  as  I could  gather  it. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  war  many  of  the  principal 
officers — both  North  and  South — came  from  civil  life.  This 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  limited  army  maintained  in  the 
United  States  during  times  of  peace.  There  was,  however,  a 
large  number  of  young  men  who  had  received  a thorough 
military  education  at  West  Point  or  other  military  training 
institutes.  Some  of  these  joined  the  United  States  army, 
and  after  a period  of  service  retired  from  it,  and  followed  some 
active  business  or  pursuit  in  civil  life,  and  were  often  in  the 
engineering  department  of  the  United  States  or  some  of  the 
individual  States,  whence  they  were  ready  to  come  to  the  front 
in  any  case  of  emergency. 

General  Beauregarde  was  a native  of  New  Orleans,  of  French 
extraction  ; he  had  a thorough  military  education,  and  was 
particularly  celebrated  as  a military  engineer.  He  had  con- 
structed the  defences  at  Charleston,  and  commanded  the 
Southern  army  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run.  He  was  brave, 
skilful,  and  cautious,  and  possessed  the  universal  esteem  and 
confidence  of  the  troops. 

General  Bragg  was  also  a citizen  of  Louisiana,  and  had  been 
employed  in  the  Engineering  Department  of  that  State ; he 
had  been  a captain  in  the  United  States  army,  and  had  served 
in  the  Mexican  war,  but  had  retired  several  years  before  the 
civil  war  broke  out.  He  was  not  at  all  popular  with  the  men 
in  general,  and  they  had  no  great  faith  in  his  abilities  as  a 


364 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


leader.  He  was  said  to  have  made  rash  adventures,  trusting 
to  fortune  to  have  them  turn  out,  so  as  to  get  the  name  of 
daring  enterprises,  and  it  was  sometimes  quietly  hinted  that 
he  had  no  regard  for  any  life  except  his  own.  This  may  have 
been  called  forth  by  his  unpopularity.  He  was  of  a tyrannical 
disposition,  and  his  treatment  of  his  troops  was  harsh,  almost 
amounting  to  brutality. 

General  Breckenridge  had  been  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States  under  Buchanan.  He  had  a military  education,  but 
not  much  military  experience ; he  possessed  much  general 
talent  and  sagacity,  he  was  but  an  amateur  general,  but  was 
generally  popular. 

General  Hardy  was  a veteran  officer  of  the  United  States 
army.  He  was  a bold  leader  and  a skilful  tactician.  He  was 
the  author  of  a book  on  tactics  called  “ Hardy’s  Tactics,” 
which  were  the  tactics  adopted  by  the  American  armies  both 
North  and  South.  He  was  particularly  noted  here  for  making 
surprise  attacks,  skilfully  planned,  upon  the  enemy’s  right 
wing  as  they  advanced  their  works,  so  that  when  any  heavy 
cannonading  was  heard  on  our  left  the  remark  would  be,  “ Oh, 
it  is  old  Hardy  driving  back  their  right  wing.” 

General  Little,  I think,  was  only  a major-general ; he  had  a 
good  name,  but  we  did  not  know  much  about  him  in  our 
division. 

General  Van  Dorn,  who  was  our  general,  I have  already 
referred  to.  He  was  a bold,  dashing  officer,  and  had  rather 
distinguished  himself  here  in  reconnoitring  the  enemy’s  position, 
the  very  thing  he  failed  to  do  at  Pea  Ridge.  He  would  have 
done  very  well  to  command  a brigade  of  cavalry  or  a flying 
column  of  mounted  infantry,  but  he  was  too  rash  and  thought- 
less to  have  charge  of  an  army. 

General  Price,  or  “ Old  Papa  Price,”  as  he  was  called,  was 
the  very  reverse  of  Van  Dorn.  He  had  more  the  look  and 
character  of  a civilian,  but  had  considerable  military  talent 
and  experience.  He  was  zealous,  plodding,  cautious,  and 
exceedingly  careful  and  attentive  to  the  wants  of  his  men,  and 
was  very  popular.  He  and  Van  Dorn  seemed  to  be  jointly  in 
command  here,  and  the  two,  we  supposed,  would  make  one 
very  good  general  if  they  could  only  agree. 

The  whole  strength  of  the  army  now  amounted  to  about 
130,000  men  of  all  arms,  but  of  these  about  10,000  were  on 
the  sick  list,  and  the  hospitals  were  full,  chiefly  of  conscripts. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


365 


A few  days  after  I had  been  suspended  I was  with  some  of 
the  boys  digging  out  a well  at  a sort  of  spring  a short  distance 
from  the  company  camp,  with  a view  to  getting  water.  Colonel 
A.  happened  to  see  us  and  came  down  to  the  place  and  called 
me  over  to  him  and  asked  what  we  were  doing.  I told  him. 

But,”  said  he,  “ I thought  you  were  suspended,  and  take  care 
you  are  not  violating  neutrality.”  I said  I thought  not  in 
merely  digging  a hole  to  get  water.  He  laughed  and  said  he 
supposed  I was  tired  of  being  idle.  I said  I was,  and  asked  if 
anything  had  been  done  in  regard  to  my  discharge.  He  said 
he  had  laid  the  matter  before  the  brigade  commander  and 
before  the  judge-advocate,  but  it  would  be  some  time  before 
any  answer  would  be  given — in  fact,  it  was  a question  which 
they  did  not  wish  to  bring  up  at  present,  and  he  did  not  like 
to  press  it.  He  thought  I should  just  return  to  duty  and  he 
would  guarantee  me  a discharge  in  July,  when  the  other 
exempts  were  being  discharged,  and  if  I had  any  scruples 
about  neutrality  he  would  order  me  to  return  to  duty,  and  I 
might  go  under  protest.  ‘‘  I think,”  continued  he,  “ that  is 
the  best  arrangement  I can  make.” 

“ But  what  about  my  rank  or  position  in  the  company  ? ” 
said  I.  “ There  has  been  another  orderly  sergeant  elected, 
and  I suppose  he  has  passed  his  examination  and  the  appoint- 
ment has  been  confirmed.  He  is  on  detached  service  at  present 
on  the  quartermaster’s  department,  but  I suppose  will  return 
in  a few  days  and  take  the  appointment.” 

‘‘Who  is  acting  orderly  sergeant  at  present  ?”  said  he. 

“ The  first  duty  sergeant,”  said  I. 

“ Oh,  very  well,”  said  he,  “ you  can  go  and  act  over  him  for 
the  present,  and  when  the  orderly  sergeant  elect  comes  to  take 
the  appointment,  I will  give  you  some  other  appointment  of 
equal  rank,  which  you  can  fill  until  you  get  your  discharge 
with  the  other  exempts.”- 

I thought  his  proposals  fair  and  reasonable,  considering  the 
imperious  position  the  Government  had  taken  and  the  arbi- 
trary measures  they  were  enforcing.  I therefore  agreed  to  the 
proposal,  taking  care  to  have  my  protest  noted. 

I returned  to  duty,  though  now  taking  it  easier,  leaving  the 
first  duty  sergeant  to  take  the  heaviest  part  of  the  camp  duties 
ofi*  my  hand. 

The  position  of  afiairs  continued  about  the  same,  the  two 
armies  confronting  each  other;  but  it  was  known  that  the 


366 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


enemy  had  considerably  increased  their  forces,  and  had  over 
150,000  men,  and  were  throwing  up  long  lines  of  earth-works, 
and  working  up  by  parallels  and  closing  in  around  Corinth  in 
the  anaconda  fashion. 

About  the  middle  of  May  we  were  apprised  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Confederate  gunboats  (such  as  they  were)  on  the 
Mississippi  at  Memphis,  and  the  capture  of  that  city  by  the 
enemy. 

This  was  not  altogether  unexpected  by  certain  of  our  men. 
The  gunboats  and  a considerable  land  force  had  been  under 
the  command  of  a supposed  daring  and  skilful  personage,  Jeff. 
Thomson  I think  was  the  name.  He  was  described  as  the 
Swamp  Fox,  or  the  Marion  of  the  present  war ; although 
some  in  their  scepticism  feared  that  his  reputation  arose  more 
from  popular  bounce  and  newspaper  puffery  than  from  any 
deeds  he  had  ever  performed,  and  since  the  catastrophe  at  New 
Orleans  the  army  had  less  faith  in  these  newspaper  heroes. 
However  that  might  be,  the  Confederates  were  defeated  and 
their  few  gunboats  destroyed,  and  Memphis  was  occupied  by 
the  Federal  troops. 

This  was  another  serious  though  perhaps  not  unexpected 
blow  to  the  Confederacy,  as  it  left  the  Mississippi  open  to  the 
Federals  down  to  New  Orleans,  allowing  their  fleet  of  gun- 
boats from  above  to  form  a junction  with  their  fleet  at  New 
Orleans,  unless  the  fortifleations  at  Vicksburg  could  be  got 
into  such  a forward  state  as  to  prevent  it. 

Such  disasters  were  now  coming  on  the  Confederacy  thick 
and  fast,  and  mostly  through  the  incapacity  and  failures  of 
officials  who  had  been  placed  in  high  command  and  responsible 
positions,  such  officials  of  course  had  been  favourites  of  the 
Government  and  got  their  appointments  through  influence; 
whilst  the  newspapers,  which  of  course  lauded  everything  that 
the  Government  did,  magnified  them  into  heroes  before  they 
had  in  any  way  been  put  to  the  proof. 

The  axiom  that  “ the  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword,”  may 
hold  good  in  times  of  peace,  but  it  may  be  looked  at  from 
another  point  of  view  and  somewhat  modified  in  time  of  war. 
Tlie  sword  then  governs  and  directs  the  pen,  and  the  latter 
becomes  merely  a servant  to  the  former.  In  other  words,  the 
pen  may  evoke  war,  but  when  war  is  instituted,  the  pen 
becomes  subservient  to  the  sword. 

I have  heard  in  the  midst  of  those  desperate  times  the  pen 


LIFE  IX  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


367 


compared  to  a clamorous  mob,  who,  in  their  cry  for  freedom, 
sets  aside  all  established  rules,  law,  and  order,  and  subjects 
everything  to  their  own  blind  will,  and  the  first  thing  they  do 
is  to  set  up  on  high  some  power  or  personage  who  will  lay 
upon  their  necks  a yoke  or  chain  to  which  they  will  unwit- 
tingly submit,  and  become  to  that  power  the  most  helpless 
and  abject  slaves.  But  these  are  political  subjects  which  I 
know  nothing  about,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with,  and  I must 
return  to  my  duty.  I saw  a group  of  men  sitting  at  the  back 
of  a tent  poring  over  something  which  they  hid  away  on  my 
approach. 

“ Holloa  ! What  is  that  you  have  got  there,  Jim  ? ” 

“ Whatr’ 

Why  that  which  you  are  hiding  behind  your  back  *?  ’’ 

“ Oh  nothing  but  a newspaper,  sergeant.” 

“ Let  me  see  it.” 

“ Let  him  see  it,  Jim,”  says  another,  “ the  sergeant  is  all 
right.” 

I took  the  paper  and  looked  over  it.  I saw  it  was  a paper 
which  had  dared  to  maintain  to  a certain  extent  a little  inde- 
pendence, and  had  ventured  to  criticise  in  somewhat  severe 
though  cautious  terms  the  gross  mismanagement  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  incapacity  of  some  of  their  favourite  officials  to 
whom  they  had  intrusted  commands  of  great  importance  and 
responsibility. 

There  was  in  it  some  reference  to  a special  order  or  message 
issued  by  President  Davis,  in  which  it  described,  as  a soother 
to  the  army,  his  statement  that  he  had  suspended  Generals 
Floyd  and  Pillow ; some  of  the  boys  asking  me  if  that  meant 
that  he  had  suspended  them  by  the  neck. 

This  paper  also  referred  to  that  arm  of  the  Federal  service 
which  threatened  to  crush  the  South,  and  that  was  the  naval 
power ; and  in  an  ironical  way  referred  to  an  assuring  order, 
issued  to  the  Confederate  army,  that  all  uneasiness  on  that 
point  might  now  be  set  aside,  as  the  Government  had  taken 
powerful  measures  to  check  any  further  advance  of  the  Federal 
fleet,  and  for  this  they  had  created  a Naval  Department  in 
the  Cabinet,  and  had  appointed  a Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in 
the  person  of  a Mr.  Somebody,  whose  very  name,  the  Govern- 
ment organs  seemed  to  think,  would  soon  send  the  Federal 
fleet  to  perdition. 

I was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  there  were  still  some 


368 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


newspapers  which  dared  to  speak  their  minds,  although  in 
somewhat  measured  terms. 

I was  told  that  such  a paper  dare  not  be  seen  in  Bragg’s 
division,  as  it  had  severely  condemned  some  acts  of  brutality 
on  the  part  of  General  Bragg,  which  were  now  the  subject  of 
general  comment  among  the  men. 

It  seemed  that  there  were  in  Bragg’s  division  some  regiments 
of  volunteers  from  Tennessee,  and  one  or  two  of  those  regi- 
ments were  what  were  called  one-year’s  troops,  having  volun- 
teered for  one  year  only,  and  their  term  of  service  was  now 
expired. 

A great  many  of  the  men  composing  these  regiments  were 
men  with  families.  They  had  made  provision  for  their  fami- 
lies when  they  left  their  homes  for  one  year.  But  since  that 
time  the  State  had  been  overrun  by  the  Federal  troops,  houses 
burned,  crops  and  property  destroyed  and  plundered,  and 
families  turned  out  of  their  houses,  and  their  homes  desolated. 

These  men  were  of  course  very  anxious  about  their  families, 
and  requested  that  as  their  term  of  service  was  now  expired, 
they  might  be  allowed  to  go  home  for  a short  time  and  see 
their  families,  and  have  them  taken  to  some  place  of  security ; 
after  which  they  pledged  themselves  that  they  would  return 
to  the  service. 

Bragg  peremptorily  refused.  They  then  asked  for  furloughs, 
part  of  them  only  going  at  a time.  This  he  also  refused,  and 
would  not  grant  a furlough  to  anyone,  even  if  it  were  to 
transact  business  for  the  others.  The  whole  regiment  then 
laid  down  their  arms  and  refused  duty. 

Bragg  then  brought  up  a strong  force  and  surrounded  them, 
and  then  directed  a battery  of  artillery  against  them,  and  gave 
them  five  minutes  to  take  up  their  arms  and  return  to  duty. 

The  ]nen  sullenly  obeyed,  each  muttering  to  himself  that  it 
would  be  but  little  service  that  he  would  ever  get  out  of  them, 
and  this  was  true,  as  the  sequel  proved. 

A good  many  deserted,  but  some  were  caught  attempting, 
or  supposed  to  be  attempting,  to  desert,  and  were  summarily 
shot  without  any  trial. 

The  greatest  tyrant  that  ever  disgraced  a position  of  power 
will  always  have  his  horde  of  sycophants  to  endorse  and  mag- 
nify his  every  act,  and  in  this  case  a number,  of  course, 
including  the  Government  organs,  did  extol  Bragg  for  what 
they  called  his  firmness  and  decision.  But  a far  greater 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


369 


number  denounced  it  as  uncalled-for  brutality,  and  unjust  and 
improper  treatment  of  volunteers.  Even  Beauregarde,  when 
he  came  to  know  of  it,  was  said  to  have  disapproved  of  it,  and 
considered  it  unnecessary  harshness,  and  not  calculated  to 
promote  either  the  strength  or  the  loyalty  of  the  army. 

But  Bragg  at  that  time  was  supposed  to  be  fishing  for 
favour  at  the  War  Department,  and  it  was  hinted  that  he  was 
trying  to  undermine  and  supersede  Beauregarde  in  the  com- 
mand. He  knew  that  this  act  would  raise  him  in  favour  at 
the  despotic  Court  at  Richmond.  Of  course  this  was  only 
talk  among  the  soldiers,  some  few  favouring  Bragg,  but  more 
condemning  him,  and  placing  implicit  confidence  in  Beau- 
regarde. 

Whether  this  act  of  Bragg  contributed  in  any  way  to  his 
being  appointed,  as  he  was  shortly  afterwards,  to  supersede 
Beauregarde,  I do  not  know ; but  Beauregarde’s  remarks,  that 
such  acts  were  not  calculated  to  promote  either  the  strength 
or  the  loyalty  of  the  army,  if  he  did  make  them,  were  to  my 
certain  knowledge  strikingly  correct ; and  if  such  strong 
measures  were  necessary,  as  was  asserted  by  some,  the  evil 
effects  of  them  were  clearly  shown  before  many  days  were  past. 

The  numerous  disasters  which  had  now  come  on  the  Con- 
federacy were  mostly  incurred  by  mismanagement  and  corrup- 
tion at  headquarters.  The  despotic  tyranny  of  J efferson  Davis 
and  his  minions — the  Conscript  Act  and  the  brutality  of  Bragg 
were  now  beginning  to  show  in  dumb  silence  on  many  coun- 
tenances, but  of  course  no  one  dared  to  speak  publicly,  no 
matter  what  they  might  think,  and  a superficial  appearance 
of  spirit  and  enthusiasm  was  still  maintained,  and  it  seemed 
to  be  now,  as  I have  often  seen  it  before  and  since,  that 
public  opinion  collectively  was  one  thing,  and  private  opinion 
individually  another;  and  nearly  everyone  of  any  judgment 
considered  within  himself  that  the  enemy  getting  control  of 
the  Mississippi  rendered  the  cause  hopeless,  and  that  further 
fighting  was  only  to  gratify  a vindictive  spirit  or  vain  ambition. 

Another  piece  of  news  was  now  whispered  through  the 
army  which  created  universal  disgust.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  Confederate  Congress  at  Richmond,  having  heard 
that  the  Federal  general,  M‘Lellan,  was  advancing  upon 
Richmond,  after  passing  the  Conscript  Act,  had  passed  a bill 
to  pay  themselves  their  wages  in  specie,  which  they  pocketed,, 
and  then  broke  up  Congress  and  fled  from  Richmond. 

2 a 


370 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


I may  here  say  in  advance,  and  I think  with  very  good 
authority,  that  at  this  time.  May,  1862,  the  state  of  affairs 
hung  in  the  balance,  and  the  total  collapse  of  the  Confederacy 
and  the  termination  of  the  war  would  then  and  there  have 
taken  place  but  for  two  circumstances  : — 

First,  the  sending  of  Butler  to  New  Orleans  by  the  Federal 
Government;  and 

Second,  the  transfer  of  the  command  of  the  Confederate 
army,  in  Virginia,  to  General  Lee. 

The  brutal  tyranny  of  Butler  in  New  Orleans  filled  every 
heart  in  the  South  with  indignation,  and  seemed  to  foreshadow 
to  them  what  they  might  expect  if  they  surrendered  to  the 
authority  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  roused  them  to 
a determination  to  fight  to  the  bitter  end,  while  the  noble 
character,  the  able  management,  and  skilful  generalship  of 
General  Lee  and  his  brilliant  successes  inspired  them  with 
renewed  confidence  and  hope,  and  prolonged  the  struggle  for 
nearly  three  years. 

It  was  a few  days  after  this  act  of  General  Bragg  that  I first 
observed  something  like  secret  disaffection  among  the  troops. 

At  some  distance  from  the  rear  of  the  camp  and  within  the 
woods  there  were  a spring  and  a small  creek  where  the  men 
from  different  parts  of  the  army  came  for  water  and  to  wash 
their  clothes.  To  this  place  one  evening  about  sunset  I went 
to  wash  some  clothes.  On  approaching  the  place  I observed  a 
number  of  men  who  had  apparently  come  there  for  water  or 
to  wash,  but  who  were  sitting  among  the  bushes  near  the 
spring,  seemingly  in  earnest  conversation.  I could  see  that 
they  were  not  all  men  of  our  division,  but  some  of  them  were 
from  other  divisions,  and  could  not  have  come  there  for  water 
or  to  do  washing.  They  did  not  observe  my  approach,  or  did 
not  pay  heed  to  it,  and  I observed  that  they  were  discussing 
the  state  of  affairs  and  the  action  of  General  Bragg,  and  I 
heard  something  like  propositions  that  the  whole  army  should 
break  up  in  a general  row  and  march  off  in  bands,  taking 
their  arms  with  them ; and  they  seemed  to  be  sounding  the 
feeling  among  the  different  divisions. 

I pretended  to  take  no  notice  of  them,  but  proceeded  to 
wash  my  clothes.  Some  of  them  then  began  to  do  the  same, 
and  the  conversation  became  more  general ; and  the  affair  of 
the  Congress  breaking  up,  after  securing  for  themselves  their 
wages  in  specie,  was  brought  up,  and  it  was  suggested  that  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


371 


army  should  now  do  the  same  thing.  I asked  if  it  was  a fact 
that  the  Congress  had  broken  up,  when  one  of  them  handed 
me  a newspaper,  which  was  one  of  the  proscribed  papers,  and 
which  gave  an  account  of  the  action  of  Congress,  with  some 
rather  severe  criticisms  on  that  “ Honourable  Body.^’  It  also 
contained  a piece  of  rhyme  which  I copied.  It  ran  thus : — 

Cromwell  his  crop-eared  soldiers  sent 
Into  the  Barebones  Parliament ; 

But,  had  he  lived  in  modern  times, 

When  men  make  laws  and  love  for  dimes, 

He  would  find  our  Barebones  much  more  docile 
Than  Pirn  or  any  other  fossil. 

Nor  had  he  found  a reason  urgent 
To  call  a file  of  men  and  sergeant. 

But  simply  wait  a brace  of  weeks. 

Till  Barebones  unto  Bunkum  speaks, 

Till,  tabling  other  claims,  those  sages 
Had  passed  a bill  to  pay  their  wages; 

Pressed  every  man  to  warlike  service, 

Except  themselves — these  statesmen  nervous  ; 

Then  had  he  sent  a courier  foaming 
To  cry,  To  arms,  the  foe  is  coming, 

Our  Parliament  would,  sine  moro^ 

Evanish  like  a flock  of  sorro. 

From  the  general  tone  among  the  men  I could  see  that 
disaflfection  was  pretty  far  spread,  and  I would  not  have  been 
astonished  to  have  seen  a general  break-up.  But  within  a 
day  or  two  after  this,  newspapers  were  abundantly  spread  all 
over  the  camp,  giving  an  account  of  Butler’s  actions  in  New 
Orleans,  and  his  famous,  or  infamous,  order  in  regard  to 
treating  females  as  “ women  of  the  town  ” was  read  out  to 
every  regiment  on  parade,  and  copies  of  the  order  extensively 
circulated. 

Butler  and  his  acts  were  no  doubt  made  the  most  of,  but 
from  every  inquiry  there  was  no  room  left  for  doubt  as  to  the 
truth  of  the  reports ; and.  in  any  way  his  acts  and  his  language 
could  be  taken  they  could  not  fail  to  raise  a feeling  of  indigna- 
tion, and  the  most  disaflfected  became  satisfied  and  seemed  to 
think  it  better  “ to  bear  the  ills  they  had  than  fly  to  others 
which  they  knew  not  of.”  The  feeling  of  indignation  which  was 
roused  by  Butler’s  acts  overcame  in  a great  measure  the  dis- 
affection that  had  been  fast  spreading  through  the  army ; and 
many  were  roused  to  a spirit  of  revenge,  while  the  disaflfected 
acquiesced,  not  that  they  hated  Davis  and  his  Bragg  the  less, 
but  that  they  hated  Lincoln  and  his  Butler  the  more. 


372 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


It  was  now  getting  towards  the  end  of  May,  and  no  appear- 
ance of  a general  battle,  although  fighting  along  the  advanced 
line  was  getting  heavier  every  day.  We  were  about  half  of 
our  time  at  the  front;  it  was  about  two  days  on  and  two 
days  ofi*,  and  the  two  days  off  were  always  interrupted  by 
various  calls  to  the  front  in  expectation  of  a general  battle. 

The  provisioning  of  the  army  was  now  most  wretched ; such 
articles  of  food  as  were  stintedly  served  out  were  of  the 
poorest  quality — moulded  cow  pease,  and  some  half  putrid,  hot 
weather  salted  beef. 

This,  however,  we  did  not  feel  so  much,  and  cared  little 
about  the  rations  served ; for,  strange  to  say,  in  passing  back- 
wards and  forwards  to  the  front,  we  went  through  large 
mounds  of  provisions  lying  along  on  each  side  of  the  railway, 
broken  open,  scattered  about,  and  rotting  in  the  sun  and  rain; 
barrels  of  flour,  pork,  and  beef,  lying  in  all  directions  with 
the  barrel-heads  knocked  out  by  the  wheels  of  the  artillery 
striking  against  them,  the  contents  mixing  with  the  dust  or 
mud,  as  the  weather  might  be,  while  the  hot  sun  soon  putrified 
them,  and  the  swarms  of  flies  which  covered  them  might  be 
compared  to  one  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt.  Here  the  men 
obtained  abundance  in  an  irregular  way,  although  the  manner 
in  which  they  obtained  it  must  have  involved  indescribable 
waste. 

Along  the  side  of  the  railroad  were  piled  up  like  houses  on 
the  side  of  a street,  several  thousand  large  boxes  of  biscuits, 
supposed  to  have  come  from  Charleston.  These  would  have 
been  a great  acquisition  and  relief  to  the  whole  army  if 
judiciously  served  out,  but  like  the  hundreds  of  tons  of  other 
provisions  that  lay  rotting  there,  they  were  probably  sealed  up 
with  red  tape  and  departmental  officialism. 

Whatever  was  the  cause  of  them  lying  there,  and  the  army 
in  a state  of  starvation,  we  did  not  know,  neither  did  we  care. 
The  treasure  which  the  boxes  contained  was  soon  discovered. 
The  butts  of  muskets,  sabres,  and  bayonets  were  soon  applied 
to  break  open  the  boxes,  and  the  men  of  the  different 
battalions  passing  to  and  from  the  front  hastily  filled  their 
haversacks. 

This  continued  from  day  to  day;  the  valuable  biscuits  were 
scattered  and  trampled  on  the  ground,  the  rain  fell  and  wet 
them,  and  they  heated  and  smoked  like  the  ruins  of  a line  of 
building  under  the  engine  hose  after  a fire.  The  men  still  in 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


373 


going  past  had  a dig  at  the  diggings,  as  they  called  the  mound, 
they  quarried  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  heart  of  the  pile  to 
get  at  the  dry  biscuits,  until  nothing  remained  but  a long 
ridge  of  broken  boxes  and  rotten  biscuits. 

About  this  time  sickness  broke  out  worse  in  the  camp  than 
it  had  ever  been.  The  hospitals  were  already  filled  with  the 
unhappy  conscripts.  But  now  a general  complaint  broke  out 
in  the  form  of  a violent  diarrhoea.  This  was  said  to  have  been 
caused  by  some  transactions,  which,  if  they  were  as  represented, 
certainly  merited  the  severest  condemnation  and  punishment. 

A quantity  of  molasses  was  got  up  from  Louisiana.  This 
was  an  article  which  was  greatly  prized,  and  pure  Louisiana 
molasses,  if  properly  preserved,  prepared  and  reboiled,  is  a 
good  and  wholesome  article  of  food,  and  was  always  much 
used  throughout  the  South,  and  indeed,  throughout  the  whole  of 
America,  and  it  was  now  in  great  demand. 

When  the  first  ration  of  this  was  issued  to  our  company,  I 
observed  that  it  was  a mass  of  foam — it  was  then  fermenting 
and  beginning  to  sour.  Our  men,  being  Louisianians,  knew 
the  article  and  could  detect  the  defect.  The  stufi*  had  been 
mixed  with  water  and  the  hot  weather  had  caused  it  to  ferment, 
and  it  was  not  only  unfit  for  food,  but  dangerous  to  health, 
and  the  story  came  out  that  the  molasses  had  come  in  good 
order  and  of  excellent  quality,  but  the  demand  for  it  was  so 
great  outside  of  the  ranks  that  the  commissary  had  sold  a 
large  quantity  of  it  for  a high  price,  and  then,  to  make  up  the 
deficiency  in  serving  it  out  to  the  troops,  had  added  water, 
and  the  hot  weather  caused  it  to  ferment. 

Whether  this  was  the  case,  and  whether  there  would  have 
been  any  inquiry  into  the  matter,  I do  not  know,  but  in  the 
thickening  of  events  at  this  time,  and  the  change  of  commanders 
which  took  place  shortly  afterwards,  it  like  many  other 
corruptions  was  soon  lost  sight  of  in  the  general  mess. 

It  was  now  certain  that  the  enemy  had  greatly  advanced 
their  position.  They  were  approaching  by  parallel  entrench- 
ments. They  had  now  got  their  works  so  far  advanced  and 
their  heavy  guns  into  position  that  they  could  throw  shells 
right  into  the  centre  of  our  camp. 

The  railway  to  Memphis  on  our  left  was  no  longer  of  any 
use ; it  was  therefore  torn  up,  the  bridges  destroyed,  and  the 
line  on  our  right  leading  to  Charleston  was  found  to  be  cut  off, 
showing  that  the  enemy  had  outflanked  us  on  our  right. 


374 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Our  whole  attention  was  now  directed  to  the  front,  where 
the  enemy  commenced  a regular  bombardment,  continuing  it 
from  daylight  until  sunset,  with  very  few  intervals,  and  it  was 
getting  heavier  every  day,  our  artillery  replying  with  lighter 
guns  from  several  redoubts  in  various  places  a little  in  advance 
of  the  line  of  our  advanced  guard. 

It  was  now  almost  a continued  battle,  the  enemy  every 
day  and  sometimes  at  night  making  attacks  upon  our 
advanced  line  of  pickets.  They  sometimes  brought  forward 
batteries  of  light  field  guns,  and  raked  the  woods  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  our  pickets,  and  frequently  made  charges 
with  small  bodies  of  cavalry,  and  sometimes  an  attack  with 
infantry.  In  none  of  these  attacks  were  they  very  suc- 
cessful. They  were  generally  worsted,  and  sometimes  pretty 
severely  handled. 

For  their  light  artillery  we  did  not  care  a pin.  The  country 
was  rough,  and  we  lay  down  behind  hillocks  and  large  trees 
and  cried  to  them  to  fire  away,  and  some  detachments  of  the 
New  Orleans  Washington  Artillery  generally  gave  them  back 
their  fire  with  good  interest.  When  cavalry  came  upon  us  we 
got  among  the  bi‘ushwood  and  brought  them  off  their  saddles 
like  crows  off  a fence ; and  if  infantry  advanced  we  fejl  back 
upon  the  reserve,  where,  if  they  followed,  they  got  a hot 
reception,  and  were  driven  back  with  heavy  loss. 

Nevertheless  they  still  kept  advancing  their  position.  The 
tide  of  the  war  was  now  with  them,  and  they  were  getting 
bolder  and  more  confident,  and  they  far  outnumbered  us  in 
strength.  But  our  men  were  now  in  fighting  spirit,  and  the 
war-cry  was  “ Butler,’’  and  they  were  eager  to  fight,  and  had 
the  enemy  come  out  of  their  entrenchments  and  fought  in  fair 
field  the  result  would  have  been  very  doubtful.  But  they 
would  not  come  out  of  their  entrenchments  and  risk  a general 
battle.  They  kept  behind  their  works,  which  they  continued 
to  advance  and  hem  us  in. 

The  pickets  were  pushed  forward  till  within  speaking  dis- 
tance of  each  other,  and  I presume  by  a mutual  agreement 
the  firing  between  pickets  was  stopped  except  when  attacks 
were  made  by  larger  bodies,  and  then  the  pickets  fell  back. 
A war  of  words  was  now  indulged  in  between  the  pickets,  and 
much  banter  was  passed. 

The  only  beverage  which  our  men  had  as  a substitute  for 
coffee  was  a decoction  made  from  the  roots  of  the  sassafras  tree, 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


375 


which  grew  thick  in  the  woods.  This  we  drank,  and  it  was 
called  sassafras  tea.  It  was  not  an  unpalatable  nor,  I believe, 
an  unwholesome  beverage,  but  it  was  a poor  substitute  for 
coffee.  On  this  the  enemy’s  pickets  bantered  us  much,  asking 
if  we  had  yet  dug  up  all  the  sassafras  trees  in  the  woods,  and 
asking  if  we  would  not  like  some  coffee. 

We  were  glad  to  hear  they  had  abundance  of  coffee,  as  we 
trusted  that  it  would  fall  into  our  hands,  as  we  intended  to 
pay  them  a visit  one  of  those  days.  So  we  said.  They  of 
course  invited  us  to  come.  They  then  asked  how  about 
our  conscripts,  and  how  Bragg  and  the  Tennessee  boys  were 
getting  on,  and  said  that  some  of  our  Tennessee  boys  who 
were  now  on  their  side  desired  to  send  their  compliments  to 
old  Bragg. 

It  was  quite  evident  that  they  knew  much  more  of  the 
affairs  of  our  camp  than  we  suspected ; but  the  fact  was, 
numerous  desertions  had  taken  place  from  Bragg’s  army,  and 
though  some  were  caught  in  the  act  and  shot,  that  did  not 
stop  it,  and  desertions  were  taking  place  every  day  from  those 
Tennessee  regiments  which  Bragg  had  so  brutally  treated. 

On  the  26th,  27th,  and  28th  of  May  we  had  been  at  the 
front,  and  during  those  three  days  the  fighting  had  gone  on 
almost  incessantly.  We  were  sitting  down  behind  a hillock, 
near  one  of  the  advanced  posts,  when  I tried  to  make  a calcu- 
lation of  the  number  of  shots  from  heavy  artillery  that  were 
being  fired  from  the  enemy’s  lines.  This  I made  out  to  be  a 
daily  average  of  about  40,000.  The  fixed  ammunition  for 
each  shot  was  said  to  cost  about  10  dollars,  making  the  expense 
of  that  fire  about  400,000  dollars  daily ; while,  at  the  very 
outside,  the  total  number  on  our  side  killed  each  day  by  that 
fire  did  not  exceed  100,  thus  costing  for  ammunition  alone  to 
kill  each  man  about  4000  dollars.  This  calculation  I showed 
to  my  friend  Tim  D.,  who  was  sitting  near  me.  Tim,  after 
verifying  the  calculation,  said  he  thought  war  was  all  nonsense, 
and  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  foolish  to  spend  so  much  money 
making  war,  because  he  could  have  got  them  killed  far  cheaper 
without  war.  He  knew,  he  said,  plenty  of  fellows  in  Ireland, 
and  in  America,  too,  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  could  have  hired  to 
kill  them  for  the  tenth  part  of  that  money  without  making 
war  at  all. 

On  the  28th  there  was  a pretty  severe  battle,  in  which  one 
of  the  Texan  regiments  of  our  brigade  lost  about  200  men,  but 


376 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  enemy  were  driven  back,  and  they  retired  within  their 
entrenchments,  and  a lull  took  place. 

In  the  afternoon  I was  sent  with  a party  of  12  men  to  take 
charge  of  an  advanced  post  until  six  o’clock,  when  another 
regiment  would  come  to  relieve  our  regiment  and  we  would 
get  back  to  camp. 

All  was  quiet  in  front  of  our  right  wing  throughout  the  rest 
of  the  afternoon.  I thought  it  was  a truce  to  bury  the  dead, 
as  between  the  lines  there  were  a great  many  dead,  and  the 
air  was  polluted  for  miles.  I did  not,  however,  see  any 
appearance  of  this  being  done,  and  we  still  heard  the  distant 
firing  away  on  our  left  wing. 

The  relief  party  which  should  have  come  to  us  at  six  o’clock 
did  not  appear  till  about  eight  o’clock.  It  was  now  dark,  and 
when  we  got  back  to  the  main  line  of  the  advanced  guard  the 
new  guard  was  posted  and  our  regiment  was  gone  and  our 
company  with  it. 

To  where  our  camp  was  was  more  than  three  miles,  and  the 
whole  space  through  the  woods  between  us  and  it  was  blocked 
up  by  waggons,  artillery  trains,  cavalry  horses  picketed,  and 
other  obstructions,  and  men  sleeping  on  the  ground,  who  would 
not  be  over  civil  if  we  kicked  against  or  tumbled  over  them  in 
the  darkness.  We  did  not  know  the  proper  way,  and  we 
could  never  be  able  to  find  it  in  the  dark,  and  we  knew  we 
would  have  nothing  to  eat  when  we  did  get  back  to  camp. 
We  therefore  concluded  to  seek  out  a quiet,  snug  place  in  the 
woods  and  lie  down  till  daylight,  and  return  to  camp  in  the 
morning,  when  we  could  easily  account  for  our  absence. 

We  kept  in  front  of  the  guard  line,  where  the  wood  v/as 
less  trampled,  and  soon  found  a snug  place  under  a large  oak 
tree,  where  we  rolled  ourselves  in  our  blankets  and  lay  down 
beside  our  arms,  and  were  soon  asleep. 

We  slept  well,  but  imagined  we  heard  throughout  the  night 
heavy  movements,  slow  tramping  of  men,  and  slow  rolling  of 
wheels,  but  what  was  going  on  around  us  we  neither  knew 
nor  cared. 

At  early  dawn  we  woke  up  much  refreshed.  We  heard 
reveille  beating,  but  that  we  knew  to  be  in  the  enemy’s  camp, 
and  as  we  did  not  intend  to  go  there  to  roll-call  we  were  in  no 
hurry  to  get  up. 

We  did  get  up,  however,  and  looked  around  to  find  our  way 
to  camp,  but  we  could  see  nobody — all  was  quiet.  We  thought 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


377 


we  had  wandered  further  into  the  woods  than  we  had  expected, 
and  began  to  fear  that  we  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  On  looking  round,  however,  we  saw  marks  which 
showed  where  we  were,  but  we  found  every  place  deserted. 
The  advanced  posts  were  deserted,  and  we  went  to  some  of  the 
redoubts,  but  found  them  also  deserted,  and  dummy  guns 
placed  in  the  embrasures.  One  of  the  men  now  declared  that 
he  remembered  hearing,  on  the  previous  afternoon,  one  of  the 
artillerymen  say  to  another  these  words — “ We  are  going  to 
skedaddle  from  here  this  night!” 

It  was  now  evident  that  the  army  had  gone,  but,  where  it 
had  gone  to  we  did  not  know.  The  situation  was  novel,  and 
we  rather  enjoyed  it.  We  went  to  a rising  ground  where  we 
could  get  a good  view,  and  climbed  a tree  to  see  the  camp  and 
the  country  around.  We  saw  plainly  that  all  was  deserted, 
and  everything  was  still  as  death.  We  then  thought  of 
reconnoitring  parties  of  the  enemy,  but  as  they  did  not 
generally  open  fire  from  their  entrenchments  until  about 
half-past  seven  or  eight  o’clock,  they  would  not  know  of  the 
departure  of  our  army;  and,  no  doubt,  it  was  to  deceive  them 
on  this  point  that  dummy  guns  had  been  placed  in  the  em- 
brasures at  the  redoubts. 

We  now  started  to  follow  the  army,  intending  on  our  way 
to  go  to  the  biscuit  heap  and  try  to  dig  up  some  good  biscuit. 

As  we  proceeded  along  we  heard  voices  and  a movement  in 
the  wood.  We  went  to  the  place  and  saw  a number  of  men, 
between  200  and  300,  who  were  lying  on  their  arms  among 
the  bushes.  We  asked  where  the  army  had  gone? 

They  said  away  south,  by  the  railway  line,  towards  Ripley. 
They  asked  why  we  were  left  behind  ? 

We  explained  that  we  had  been  on  picket-guard,  and  slept 
in  the  woods  instead  of  going  back  to  camp.  I asked  if  they 
were  the  rear-guard  ? 

Some  said  “Yes,”  and  some  said  “No,”  and  some  told  us 
to  “ Go  on,  and  ask  no  questions.” 

“ I bet  you  I know  who  these  fellows  are,”  said  Canada, 
who  was  with  us,  as  we  left  them.  “ These  are  some  of  Bragg’s 
Tennessee  men  dropping  behind  to  skedaddle  to  their  homes, 
and  right  they  are.” 

I thought  from  their  wretched  and  haggard  appearance  that 
they  were  Bragg’s  men,  and  I did  not  disagree  with  him  in 
his  opinion. 


378 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


‘‘  I don’t  care,”  said  he,  “ I will  ask  the  next  lot  we  come 
to,  right  out.” 

“You  had  better  not,”  said  I ; “it  is  not  our  business ; we 
are  no  rear-guard  to  pick  up  stragglers,  and  we  don’t  wish  to 
give  information,  as  we  are  bound  to  do,  against  deserters, 
especially  men  who  are  to  be  so  much  sympathised  with  as 
these  Tennessee  men ; and  so  long  as  we  do  not  know  what 
they  are,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  them,  and  we  have  no 
business  to  ask.” 

“ I will  give  information  against  them,”  said  he,  “ but  by 
that  time  they  will  be  far  enough  out  of  reach ; and  I will 
just  do  it  to  annoy  old  Bragg.” 

We  got  to  the  biscuit  heap,  and  after  digging  deep  into  the 
rotten  mass  we  came  upon  some  sound  biscuits,  which  we  put 
into  our  haversacks.  We  then  went  towards  the  railway 
junction  at  Corinth.  The  whole  of  the  cars  and  rolling-stock 
was  gone,  and  much  of  the  track  torn  up.  The  houses  were 
not  destroyed  but  empty ; many  barrels  of  beef  and  pork  with 
the  heads  knocked  out  lay  along  the  line.  The  beef  was 
execrable,  but  a piece  of  tolerable  pork  was  picked  up  which 
we  took  along,  intending  to  grill  and  eat  it  with  our  biscuit  as 
soon  as  we  got  to  the  wooded  country  and  away  from  this 
abominable  place. 

We  followed  the  railway  southward,  and  at  last  got  on  to 
the  track  of  the  army.  We  had  not  gone  far  when  we  came 
upon  another  and  larger  body  of  men  lying  in  the  woods. 
This  time  there  would  be  near  1000.  We  at  first  thought 
they  were  the  rear-guard,  but  Canada  pressed  the  question  on 
them.  They  were  quite  indifierent  and  defiant,  and  said  they 
were  going  no  further  with  Bragg,  and  told  us  if  we  saw 
Bragg  that  day  to  tell  him  to  come  back  and  see  them,  and 
they  would  make  a bargain  with  him.  I quite  believe  they 
would,  and  it  would  have  been  a final  settlement  so  far  as 
Bragg  was  concerned. 

They  said  they  were  waiting  for  others  who  had  yet  to 
come  and  join  them.  They  asked  if  we  had  seen  many  men 
north  of  the  railway.  We  said  only  one  lot.  They  said  these 
were  those  who  had  been  on  the  advanced  guard,  and  they 
were  going  to  hide  in  the  woods  there,  until  the  Federals 
passed  south  of  them  and  occupied  Corinth,  and  then  they 
would  go  to  their  homes  in  Tennessee. 

Throughout  that  day  we  met  large  bodies  of  men  coming 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


379 


backwards  of  whom  we  learned  how  far  the  rear-guard  was  in 
advance.  These  men  had  dropped  out  of  the  ranks  mostly 
in  the  night,  and  lingered  in  the  woods  until  the  rear-guard 
had  passed,  and  then  made  their  way  back  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

It  had  always  been  quite  a common  thing  for  men  to  straggle 
from  the  ranks  on  a march,  but  they  always  came  up  after- 
wards, and  among  volunteer  troops  such  a thing  as  desertion 
was  never  dreamt  of.  But  on  reasoning  with  these  men  that 
day,  they  told  us  that  they  would  sooner  have  died  than  done 
it  while  volunteers,  but  the  case  was  now  altered.  They  had 
served  honourably  their  time  as  volunteers,  but  when  they 
were  afterwards  driven  to  serve  by  having  artillery  turned 
against  them,  they  considered  they  were  no  longer  volunteers, 
or  by  honour  bound. 

This  was  the  first  instance  of  desertion  that  I knew  of  in 
the  Confederate  army,  and  it  was  upon  an  extensive  scale. 
The  Confederate  Government  and  their  organs  tried  to  under- 
rate it  and  smother  it  as  much  as  possible,  and  especially 
Bragg’s  action  which  caused  it.  They  admitted  the  loss  of  a 
few  hundred  men  who  had  been  left  behind ; while  the 
Federal  General  Halleck  declared  that  15,000  men  had 
deserted  and  surrendered  their  arms  to  him ; but  this  I think 
was  exaggerated.  I have  no  doubt  from  what  I saw  that 
several  thousands  dropped  out  and  were  left  behind. 

We  were  in  no  hurry  to  overtake  the  army,  as  we  could 
get  along  much  easier  and  pleasanter  by  ourselves  outside  of 
the  crowd.  We  bivouacked  by  ourselves  for  the  night,  and 
the  following  day  came  up  with  the  army,  which  at  last  took 
up  a position  at  a place  called  Tupelo,  about  35  miles  south 
from  Corinth,  near  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


EVACUATION  OF  CORINTH  DISAPPROVED  OF — BEAUREGARDS  SUPERSEDED  BY 
BRAGG— CAMP  AT  TUPELO— FURTHER  EFFECTS  OF  BUTLER’S  POLICY— THE 
LADIES  CUT  UP  THEIR  DRESSES  TO  MAKE  CLOTHING  FOR  THE  SOLDIERS — 
SINECURE  OFFICES  — A GOVERNMENT  INSPECTOR  INSPECTING  ARMS — 
EXPIRATION  OP  TERM  OF  SERVICE — DISCHARGE  OF  EXEMPTS — I LEAVE 
THE  ARMY— RETURN  TO  BATON  ROUGE- GUERILLA  WARFARE— BOMBARD- 
MENT OP  BATON  ROUGE— HOW  SECESSION  AGITATORS  KEPT  THEIR  FAITH 
— DISCUSSION  WITH  FEDERAL  SOLDIERS  ON  THE  QUESTION  OF  THE 
WAR — ARRIVAL  AT  NEW  ORLEANS. 

The  evacuation  of  Corinth  and  falling  back  to  Tupelo  was 
disapproved  of  by  the  Government  at  Richmond,  and  Beau- 
regarde  was  blamed  for  it  and  superseded  by  Bragg. 

There  was,  howev^er,  a great  many  who  considered  that  any 
censure  on  Beauregarde  was  extremely  unjust,  and  there  must 
have  been  other  reasons  for  placing  Bragg  in  command.  It 
required  no  great  military  knowledge  to  see  that  the  position 
at  Corinth  was  no  longer  tenable  or  of  any  great  value  to  the 
Confederates,  except  so  far  as  in  keeping  it  from  the  Federals. 

Memphis  being  irrecoverably  in  possession  of  the  Federals, 
it  was  of  no  use  for  communication  with  that  place.  The  line 
to  Charleston  was  in  possession  of  the  enemy,  and  that  was  of 
no  value.  There  was  no  communication  then  left  but  the  line 
direct  to  the  South,  and  by  moving  South  to  a stronger 
position  on  that  line,  it  was  held  more  secure.  It  would, 
however,  be  of  some  value  to  the  Federals  if  they  could  keep 
the  lines  to  the  east  and  west  and  to  the  north  open. 

Corinth,  with  the  railways  cut  off,  was  valueless  as  a place 
of  defence,  and  it  was  certainly  not  a healthy  position.  Beau- 
regarde found  himself  outflanked  by  numbers,  the  railways  cut 
off  to  the  east  and  west,  his  rear  threatened,  and  his  army 
suffering  from  sickness.  Out  of  130,000  men  nearly  20,000 
were  on  the  sick  list.  The  enemy  had  advanced  their  works 
so  as  to  throw  their  shells  into  the  centre  of  the  position,  and 
he  could  not  bring  them  to  a general  battle,  even  against 
his  inferior  force.  The  withdrawing  of  his  forces  was  skilfully 
executed,  and  for  the  troops  lost  by  desertion  Bragg  was 
entirely  to  blame. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


193 


West,  and  was  colonel  of  one  of  the  Arkansas  regiments.  P. 
was  very  anxious  to  see  him,  and  wished  he  was  here  now. 

A few  days  after  we  took  up  this  position  a call  was  made 
for  a party  of  riflemen  to  go  with  a detachment  to  the  front. 
Our  company  was  selected ; and  the  detachment  was  made  up 
of  the  left  flank  skirmishing  company,  and  three  other  com- 
panies of  the  regiment — in  all  about  500  men.  When  we 
were  ready  to  march  out  great  was  the  joy  of  P.  when  he  saw 
that  the  officer  going  to  take  command  of  the  detachment  was 
Colonel  McIntosh. 

Colonel  McIntosh  was  a true  type  of  the  real  Scottish 
gentleman,  such  as  might  have  been  found  about  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  free  from  all  the  adul- 
terations and  pedantic  display  of  modern  refinement. 
His  every  action  betokened  the  officer  and  the  gentleman. 
He  was  plain  and  affable  in  his  manner,  but  his  look  was 
sufficient  to  command  respect  and  obedience.  Of  the  genuine 
clan  of  the  McIntosh,  born  and  raised  in  the  South,  educated 
at  “ West  Point’’  and  trained  in  the  United  States  army,  and 
often  engaged  in  Indian  warfare,  he  seemed  to  have  been 
selected  by  the  general  as  his  right-hand  man.  Having 
inspected  the  detachment,  he  examined  our  rifles,  asked  if  we 
were  good  shots  with  them,  and  said  he  would  give  us  an 
opportunity  of  trying  our  hands.  He  recognised  P.,  for  whom 
he  seemed  to  have  had  some  regard,  and  expressed  his  joy  at  seeing 
him.  P.,  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  introduced  me  to  him ; 
and  we  marched  out  on  the  road  towards  the  enemy’s  camp. 
My  position  was,  of  course,  with  the  captain  at  the  right  or 
head  of  the  company;  and  this  was  also  the  general  position  of 
the  commander  of  the  detachment. 

Colonel  McIntosh,  having  dismounted  and  given  his  horse  to 
an  orderly,  came  and  walked  on  the  right  and  entered  into 
conversation.  He  asked  me  how  long  since  I had  left  Scot- 
land, and  much  about  it.  He  seemed  to  have  great  pride  in 
his  Scotch  descent,  and  said  he  hoped  that  I and  the  other 
Scotchmen  would  do  honour  to  our  race. 

When  we  had  got  a short  distance  beyond  our  pickets 
the  report  of  a rifle  was  heard  some  distance  in  front.  “ What 
is  that  ? ” said  Colonel  McIntosh ; “ that  can’t  be  the  enemy’s 
pickets,  or  else  they  have  shifted  them  forward.” 

A party  of  mounted  infantry  from  Price’s  division  had  been 
out  reconnoitring  that  morning,  and  had  been  driven  in  by 

N 


194 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  enemy’s  cavalry.  Colonel  McIntosh  ordered  the  detachment 
to  close  up  and  be  in  readiness.  Another  shot  was  heard,  and, 
coming  to  a turn  of  the  road,  we  saw  a solitary  man  of  Price’s 
division  standing  on  the  road  loading  his  rifle. 

‘‘  That  is  one  of  Price’s  stupid  fools,”  said  Colonel  MTntosh  ; 
and,  going  up  to  the  man,  said,  “ What  are  you  doing  there  ? 
Was  that  you  that  was  firing  ? ” 

‘‘  Yes,”  said  the  man,  as  he  proceeded  to  ram  a ball  down 
into  a rifle  barrel  nearly  as  thick  as  his  arm  with  a bore  that 
would  scarcely  admit  a pea. 

What  are  you  firing  at  ? ” said  the  colonel. 

‘‘  At  the  enemy,”  said  the  man. 

‘‘  Where  is  the  enemy  ? ” said  the  colonel ; ‘‘I  see  no  enemy.” 

‘‘You  go  up  to  where  yon  scrub  oaks  are,”  said  the  man, 
pointing  to  a wooded  hill  about  three  miles  distant,  “ and  you 
will  see  plenty  of  them.” 

By  this  time  the  head  of  Churchhill’s  regiment  of  mounted 
infantry,  which  was  in  our  rear,  came  up.  Colonel  M‘Intosh 
laughed  at  the  man’s  simplicity  and  ordered  him  back  to  the 
camp,  as  he  might  fire  at  some  of  our  own  forces. 

We  were  soon  after  deployed  among  the  brushwood  of  a 
rocky  ridge  which  skirted  the  road  on  one  side,  while  Church- 
hill’s  regiment  moved  up  the  road.  The  object,  we  were  mow 
told,  was  that  Churchhill  would  make  an  attack  on  the  enemy’s 
outposts  and  drive  them  in,  which  would  bring  on  their  cavalry, 
while  Churchhill  would  retreat  back  along  the  road  followed  by 
them,  and  they  would  thus  be  drawn  under  our  fire.  The  diffi- 
culty would  now  be  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe,  but  Colonel 
M‘Intosh  had  given  strict  orders  to  each  company  not  to  fire 
until  he  gave  the  order,  which  would  be  when  the  rear  of 
Churchhill’s  regiment  had  passed  the  left  of  the  detachment. 

I have  often  thought  from  this  and  other  incidents  that  it 
is  proper  that  soldiers,  particularly  volunteers,  should  know 
something  of  the  programme  that  is  to  be  carried  out  and 
what  is  the  plan  their  commanders  are  acting  upon,  as  no  dis- 
cipline in  the  world  will  provide  against  mistakes  or  accidents. 
The  officer  whose  orders  are  awaited  may  fall  at  the  first  fire, 
or  an  order  may  be  misunderstood,  as  after  the  firing  com- 
mences it  is  difficult  to  make  orders  heard. 

In  about  half-an-hour  after  we  had  taken  our  position  we 
heard  firing  both  of  artillery  and  small  arms,  and  soon  after 
heard  the  sound  of  cavalry  retreating  down  the  road,  and  they 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY, 


195 


were  soon  passing  in  front  of  us.  It  was  Churchhiirs  regiment. 
They  were  in  good  order,  and  the  enemy’s  cavalry  was  follow- 
ing them  up.  The  rear  of  their  regiment  had  passed  our  right 
and  we  looked  for  their  pursuers.  Fortunately  there  was  some 
distance  between  the  pursued  and  the  pursuers,  otherwise  it 
would  have  been  very  difficult  to  distinguish  between  them 
on  account  of  the  dust.  They  did  come,  and  whether  they 
suspected  anything  or  not  I do  not  know,  but  before  they 
were  half  way  along  our  concealed  line  they  halted  and 
wheeled.  Colonel  MTntosh  nevertheless  coolly  waited  until 
Churchhill’s  regiment  had  passed,  and  then  gave  the  order  to 
fire.  The  clouds  of  dust  somewhat  obscured  the  view,  but 
the  boys  delivered  their  fire  steadily  and  effectually,  and  a 
good  many  saddles  were  emptied.  They  wheeled  in  some 
confusion,  some  of  the  troops  in  the  rear  discharging  their 
carabines  amongst  us.  The  bullets  rattled  among  the  bushes 
but  did  no  harm,  and  in  a few  minutes  they  were  off  out  of 
sight.  Some  of  Churchhill’s  men  returned  to  try  and  pick  up 
some  of  the  riderless  horses,  but  most  of  them  had  followed 
their  friends.  They  only  got  one  or  two  that  were  not  wounded. 
We  were  now  ordered  back  to  camp,  quite  pleased  at  having 
had  a brush  with  the  enemy.  Some  of  the  farmers  in  the 
neighbourhood  were  employed  to  bury  the  dead  and  attend  to 
the  wounded  or  take  them  back  to  their  own  camp. 

Next  morning  the  enemy  advanced  with  artillery  and  shelled 
the  woods  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  From  this  it  was  sup- 
posed that  they  were  going  to  advance  in  force,  and  we  were 
drawn  out  in  position  to  receive  them. 

Our  company  was  posted  to  hold  a narrow  pass  on  the 
outside  of  the  hill,  to  the  right  and  a little  in  front  of  our 
position,  through  which  a part  of  the  enemy’s  force  might  pass 
and  attempt  to  turn  our  right  flank.  When  we  had  taken 
this  position  I was  sent  by  the  captain  to  place  some  pickets 
in  front  near  the  road.  While  engaged  in  this  duty  General 
McCulloch  came  along,  accompanied  by  a stout  farmer-looking 
old  gentleman  dressed  in  a suit  of  white  linen  clothes,  not  over 
clean,  who  I took  to  be  one  of  the  farmers  of  the  neighbour- 
hood the  general  was  often  talking  with  about  the  roads, 
passes,  and  the  country  in  general. 

The  general  asked  me  what  I was  doing,  and  having  told 
him,  he  gave  me  some  directions  about  placing  the  pickets, 
telling  me  to  keep  them  a little  further  back  from  the  road 


196 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


and  more  out  of  sight,  and,  although  the  enemy  passed  on  the 
road,  to  be  certain  not  to  fire  unless  they  tried  to  enter  the 
pass.  The  old  gentleman  then  said  something  to  the  general 
which  I did  not  hear,  but  the  general  turned  to  me  and  said, 
Kemember  that  there  is  a body  of  our  own  troops  to  come 
in  first ; take  care  that  you  don’t  fire  upon  them.” 

“ How  are  we  to  distinguish  our  own  men  from  the  enemy  ? ” 
said  I.  “ The  enemy’s  troops  that  we  saw  yesterday  were  so 
covered  over  with  dust  and  dirt  that  we  could  not  tell  them 
from  our  own  men.” 

“ That  is  a compliment  to  your  own  men,”  said  the  old  man, 
laughing.  “But  there  should  be  something  to  distinguish 
them, — a piece  of  white  cloth  tied  round  every  man’s  left  arm 
would  do  very  well.” 

“ Yes,”  said  the  general,  “ that  will  do  very  well,  and  it 
should  be  done ; they  can  tear  up  a tent  or  something.” 

I did  not  like  the  idea  of  tearing  up  our  only  tent,  and  I 
asked  the  old  gentleman  whom  I took  to  be  a farmer,  whether 
he  thought  we  could  not  get  an  old  white  shirt  or  two. 

“ I can’t  give  you  any,”  said  he,  “ unless  I give  you  the  one 
I have  on,  and  it  is  not  very  white ; ” and  that  was  true. 

“ Tut,”  said  the  general  to  me,  “ that  is  General  Price  you 
are  talking  to.” 

I laughed  and  apologised.  He  laughed  and  said  it  was  all 
right. 

General  Price  had  been  Governor  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
but  having  taken  part  with  the  South,  he  was  driven  out  by  the 
Federal  army,  and  had  taken  the  field  with  the  State  troops, 
and  such  followers  as  he  could  raise. 

He  was  a shrewd  man  and  had  some  military  experience, 
having  served  in  the  Mexican  war.  He  was  a good  deal  of  a 
politician  and  courted  popularity,  and  his  object  and  policy 
were  now  to  gather  to  his  standard  as  many  men  as  possible, 
and  to  win  over  the  sympathy  of  the  population  of  the  State, 
and  get  the  State  to  declare  in  favour  of  the  South. 

It  was  a part  of  his  division  that  General  McCulloch 
referred  to,  when  he  said  that  a body  of  our  own  troops  was 
to  come  in  first,  and  we  were  to  take  care  not  to  fire  upon 
them.  This  was  a body  of  some  2000  mounted  infantry  that 
had  gone  out.  to  make  a feint  attack  upon  the  enemy’s  forces, 
supposed  to  be  advancing,  and  draw  them  on  to  attack  our 
position. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


197 


Towards  the  afternoon  we  heard  cannonading  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  we  supposed  the  attack  was  to  be  made ; and  not 
long  after  the  sound  of  the  retreating  force  was  heard,  and 
on  they  came — not  in  good  order  like  Churchhilks  regiment, 
but  in  a regular  stampede.  They  had  met  a pretty  strong 
force  of  the  enemy  who  had  thrown  a few  shrapnels  amongst 
them  which  sent  them  back  in  confusion.  They  were  in  a sort 
of  panic,  and  reported  the  enemy  advancing  at  least  30,000 
strong.  They  were  laughed  at  and  jeered  for  their  precipitous 
retreat.  Of  course  they  could  not  have  stood,  nor  was  it 
expected  they  should,  but  it  was  suggested  that  they  might 
have  retreated  in  good  order  as  ChurchhilFs  regiment  had  done. 

Not  liking  to  be  laughed  at,  and  having  recovered  from  their 
momentary  panic,  they  were  quite  ready  to  face  the  enemy 
again,  which,  they  assured  us,  we  would  all  now  have  an 
opportunity  of  doing  as  they  were  advancing  in  tremendous 
force,  and  all  awaited  now  the  expected  attack. 

The  artillery  was  in  position  and  everything  in  readiness, 
but  no  enemy  approached.  Scouts  came  in  about  sunset  and 
reported  that  the  enemy  had  fallen  back  to  their  original 
position. 

Strong  guards  and  advanced  pickets  were  put  out,  and  the 
main  body  retired  to  their  bivouacs  near  the  creek,  but  no 
supplies  had  yet  come  forward.  The  men  had  had  little  or 
nothing  to  eat  all  day,  and  two  ears  of  green  corn  served  out 
to  each  was  all  they  could  get.  This  was  roasted  and  a part 
of  it  eaten  for  supper,  and  part  reserved  for  the  morning’s 
breakfast ; and  with  a drink  of  water  from  the  creek,  and  the 
ever-solacing  smoke  the  men  rolled  themselves  in  their  blankets 
and  stretched  themselves  on  the  grass.  We  had  one  conso- 
lation, it  was  fine  weather — the  beginning  of  August.  No 
rain,  the  nights  warm ; no  mosquitoes ; and.  never  did  we 
enjoy  sweeter  nights’  rest  than  rolled  in  our  blankets  on  the 
green  grass  under  a tree  with  the  branches  just  sufficient  to 
break  the  bright  glare  of  the  moon  or  stars  in  our  eyes. 

At  daybreak,  we  were  aroused  by  a firing  along  the  outposts 
of  the  camp,  and  the  beating  of  the  long  roll.  We  were  soon 
up  and  formed,  and  if  we  did  not  get  our  faces  washed,  we 
got  our  feet  wet,  in  dashing  through  the  creek  in  our  sudden 
rush  to  the  front,  where  we  were  soon  in  our  position  of  the 
previous  day. 

It  turned  out  to  be  nothing.  A small  force  of  the  enemy’s 


198 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


cavalry  had,  during  the  dark  of  the  morning,  crept  down  the 
road,  driven  in  the  advanced  pickets,  and  approached  to  the 
inner  line,  and  were  of  course  driven  back ; and  as  one  rascal 
who  was  taken  prisoner  coolly  said,  they  had  just  come  along 
to  say  good  morning  and  see  how  we  were  getting  on,  apologise 
for  not  having  visited  us  on  the  previous  day,  and  hoped  we 
had  been  put  to  no  inconvenience. 

It  was  now  well  known  to  the  enemy  that  McCulloch  seldom 
kept  prisoners,  but  took  their  arms,  then  their  names  and 
every  mark  for  identification,  and  paroled  them,  saying  he 
would  rather  fight  them  than  feed  them,  and  let  them  go, 
assuring  them  that  if  caught  in  arms  again,  unless  previously 
exchanged,  he  would  hang  them  on  the  first  tree ; and  it  was 
supposed  that  this  fellow^  was  not  such  a fool  as  he  pretended 
to  be,  and  most  likely  he  had  contrived  to  make  his  horse 
stumble  and  himself  fall  and  be  made  prisoner  on  purpose  that 
he  might  inspect  our  force  and  position  and  take  his  chance  of 
getting  away  with  the  information.  What  was  done  with  the 
fellow  I do  not  know,  but  no  doubt  good  care  was  taken  that 
he  would  not  be  allowed  to  make  his  escape  until  his  informa- 
tion would  be  of  no  value. 

We  returned  to  the  bivouac,  but  where  was  the  prospect  of 
getting  anything  for  breakfast  ? Some  had  a little  coffee  which 
they  had  bought  and  preserved,  some  contrived  to  obtain  at  a 
very  high  price  a small  quantity  of  flour  from  some  of  the 
commissary  staff,  but  the  main  food  was  green  corn,  which  was 
brought  in  from  the  fields  in  waggons,  and  even  that  was 
limited ; and  many  had  for  breakfast  nothing  but  the  remains 
of  the  two  ears  of  corn  issued  to  them  the  previous  evening, 
which  they  boiled  and  ate,  and  drank  the  water  it  was  boiled 
in  by  way  of  a hot  beverage  in  place  of  coffee,  some  declaring 
it  was  not  so  bad  after  all. 

The  men,  however,  were  getting  tired  of  this  work,  and  no 
doubt  McCulloch  saw  that  he  must  force  the  fighting.  He  had 
made  some  successful  raids  with  the  Texas  Hangers,  and  cut 
off  some  of  the  enemy^s  detachments,  but  the  enemy  had  now 
concentrated  their  forces  and  could  attack  him  with  their 
whole  strength  at  any  moment,  and  they  were  advantageously 
posted  with  Springfield,  their  base  of  operations,  in  their  rear, 
only  a few  miles  distant,  with  abundance  of  supplies,  and  they 
could  quietly  remain  at  ease  and  act  on  the  defensive. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  were  about  150  miles  from  our  base 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


199 


of  operations,  and  had  but  few  supplies  even  there.  A wild 
country  and  almost  impassable  roads  lay  between  us,  and  the 
animals  for  transport  were  giving  out.  The  troops  had  thus 
to  subsist  on  green  corn,  which  was  causing  diarrhoea  to  break 
out  amongst  them. 

The  general  had  expected  to  get  intelligence  of  the  enemy’s 
strength  and  movements  through  General  Price,  who  was 
supposed  to  be  very  popular  among  the  people,  at  least  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  and  many  of  his  political  friends 
were  often  visiting  him,  professing  great  zeal  in  the  cause,  and 
that  at  great  risk  to  their  personal  safety  they  gave  information 
of  the  strength  and  movements  of  the  enemy.  McCulloch 
began  to  find  out  that  this  information  was  not  always  to  be 
relied  upon,  and  it  often  conflicted  with  that  obtained  through 
his  own  scouts,  and  he  had  but  little  faith  in  the  honour  or 
integrity  of  politicians,  and  ultimately  would  not  act  on  such 
information.  The  sequel  showed  that  he  was  right,  but  this 
matter  led  to  an  estrangement  between  him  and  General  Price 
which  never  was  healed,  but  continued  to  increase,  and  was 
disastrous  to  the  Confederate  cause  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  led  to  the  abandonment  of  its  defence  by  the  Confederate 
Government. 


CHAPTER  XYII. 


A SOLEMN  MARCH  BY  NIGHT — A DESERTED  CAMP — JUDGING  THE  STRENGTH 
OF  THE  LION  FROM  THE  APPEARANCE  OF  HIS  DEN — FOLLOWING  UP  THE 
ENEMY — A TOILSOME  DAY  AND  A COMFORTLESS  NIGHT — ARRIVAL  AT 
WILSON’S  CREEK — LADY  VISITORS  TO  THE  CAMP — PREPARATIONS  FOR  A 
NIGHT  ATTACK — ANOTHER  POSTPONEMENT. 

A DECISIVE  battle  was  now  the  only  thing  that  would  alter 
this  state  of  matters  and  make  them  either  better  or  worse, 
and  it  was  not  without  some  shade  of  satisfaction  that  in  the 
evening  it  became  known  that  such  a course  was  determined 
upon.  Orders  were  quietly  given  to  the  captains  and  orderly 
sergeants  of  companies  to  have  arms  inspected  and  the  men 
supplied  with  ammunition  and  be  ready  at  nine  o’clock  to 
march  forward  and  attack  the  enemy.  It  was  evident  that 
McCulloch  intended  to  surprise  them  by  a night  attack  on 
their  position. 

There  is  something  trying  in  the  quiet  solemn  whisperings 
in  the  dark  when  preparing  for  a night  attack,  which  might 
have  tried  the  nerves  of  more  experienced  troops  than  ours, 
knowing  as  they  did  the  hazardous  nature  of  the  undertaking ; 
but  they  all  seemed  to  be  pervaded  with  a resigned  and  stern 
determination,  and  never  did  I see  them  take  their  places  with 
more  order  and  obedience  and  seeming  sense  of  duty. 

Our  regiment,  as  usual,  was  to  be  on  the  right  and  our 
company  on  the  right  of  the  regiment.  We  formed  and 
marched  out  of  our  bivouac  and  halted,  waiting  till  the  other 
companies  were  ready  that  we  might  form  line.  The  strictest 
silence  prevailed — not  a word  was  spoken. 

While  we  stood  there  in  the  darkness  the  orderly  sergeant 
of  the  left  flank  company  (who,  by-the-bye,  was  the  same 
military  sprig  who  had  at  New  Orleans  made  such  a ready 
and  careless  report  to  the  adjutant,  and  who  was  full  of 
mischief  and  animal  spirits  even  at  this  time)  left  his  position 
in  the  ranks  for  a moment,  and  running  over  to  where  I stood, 
and,  pulling  me  by  the  sleeve,  said  in  a half -joking  way  : 
‘‘  W.,  you  are  a very  good  fellow,  but  better  you  than  me  to 
be  on  the  right  to-night.  Good-bye,  old  fellow.” 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


201 


It  was  very  true  that  my  place  would  be  with  the  captain 
on  the  right  of  the  company,  and  we  would  be  the  first  to 
advance  and  approach  the  enemy,  and  had  the  Federals  been 
aware  of  our  approach  and  advanced  one  or  two  pieces  of 
artillery  down  the  road,  or  had  infantry  been  awaiting  in 
ambush,  we  stood  a fair  chance  of  being  the  first  to  be  swept 
ofi*.  However,  I expected  that  precautions  would  be  taken  to 
guard  against  that,  and  probably  Price’s  division  would 
advance  by  some  other  route  and  the  troops  would  deploy  into 
the  woods,  and  by  a preconcerted  signal  the  attack  would  be 
made  simultaneously. 

A few  minutes  after  9 o’clock  the'  column  moved  forward 
in  silence.  Not  a sound  was  to  be  heard  but  the  steady  tramp 
of  the  troops,  and  never  did  I see  them  march  so  steady  or 
soldierlike.  Some  clicking  of  canteens  against  the  hilts  of 
sabres  was  immediately  checked  and  suppressed,  and  the  silence 
and  steadiness  of  that  march  in  the  dark  night  up  that  solitary 
road,  lined  on  each  side  with  the  black  frowning  woods,  seemed 
truly  grand. 

I could  never  lay  claim  to  extraordinary  courage,  and  could 
never  be  accused  of  exposing  myself  needlessly  and  recklessly 
to  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  I may  say  that  I was  always  on 
the  whole  happiest  when  I was  out  of  danger ; but  it  seems  to 
me  that  there  are  times  when  a man  has  not  entirely  free  will 
or  control  over  his  sentiments.  His  courage  may  be  stirred 
up  by  some  great  circumstance  or  necessity  of  the  moment, 
and  every  other  thought  or  consideration  is  forgotten ; and 
such,  I thought,  that  night  pervaded  these  men.  For  myself, 
it  seemed  plain,  from  my  position,  that  I was  going  to  almost 
certain  destruction ; and  yet,  I think,  I never  in  my  life 
walked  with  such  pride  as  I marched  on  that  occasion  at  the 
head  of  the  column. 

By  our  side  rode  the  colonel,  who  sometimes  went  back  along 
the  line  to  see  if  the  files  were  keeping  closed  up,  and  occa- 
sionally the  general  came  up  and  rode  by  us ; but  the  utmost 
silence  was  maintained,  and  anything  said  was  in  a very  low 
tone. 

When  we  had  gone  a certain  distance  we  supposed  we  were 
near  the  enemy’s  pickets.  The  general  quietly  ordered  a halt, 
and  asked  for  about  six  men  to  act  as  scouts.  I walked  along 
the  company,  and  asked  for  six  men  to  volunteer  to  go  to  the 
front.  More  than  a dozen  were  forward  in  a minute.  The 


202 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


first  was  H.,  a man  very  low  in  stature  and  a tailor  by  pro- 
fession. The  general  looked  at  him  and  said,  ‘‘You  will  do 
fine  as  to  size,  but  tell  me  this,  my  man,  are  you  afraid  of 
being  shot  by  the  enemy?” 

“No,  d n ’em,”  said  H. 

“You  will  do,”  said  the  general. 

He  then  selected  the  rest,  choosing  men  small  of  stature, 
who  would  not  be  so  easily  seen,  and  could  creep  softly  through 
the  brushwood.  More  wanted  to  go,  but  he  would  only  allow 
six.  He,  however,  allowed  two  more  to  go  in  rear  of  the 
others,  so  as  to  report  back  quickly  anything  they  saw.  He 
then  gave  them  orders  to  go  away  ahead,  three  on  each  side — 
one  on  the  very  edge  of  the  road  under  the  dark  shade  of  the 
woods,  the  other  two  to  extend  some  distance  from  the  road 
into  the  woods  on  each  side.  They  proceeded  on  in  front,  and 
he  ordered  the  column  to  advance  very  slowly. 

I confess  I now  felt  a little  relieved,  for  I had  for  the  last 
quarter  of  an  hour  been  expecting  a volley  of  grape-shot  being 
sent  down  the  road  to  greet  our  arrival,  and,  notwithstanding 
my  pride  at  my  position  that  night,  I had  a particular  anti- 
pathy to  grape-shot ; and  if  the  enemy  had  lined  the  ridges  on 
the  side  of  the  road  with  riflemen,  and  given  us  a salute  as  we 
passed,  it  would  have  been  nothing  more  than  a due  respect  to 
the  compliment  we  had  paid  them  two  days  previously. 

We  kept  marching  on  slowly,  the  scouts  reporting  back  that 
they  had  seen  nothing.  At  length  said  the  colonel,  “ This 
looks  suspicious ; we  must  have  passed  their  picket  guard.” 
This  implied  that  they  had  been  aware  of  our  approach  and 
drawn  in  their  pickets,  or  that  the  picket  guard  had  discovered 
us  and  retired  in  silence ; in  either  case  they  would  be  ready 
to  receive  us.  The  general,  in  the  meantime,  had  gone  back 
to  give  some  orders  about  the  artillery,  as  I supposed. 

At  length  we  came  to  an  opening  which  looked  down  upon 
a creek  about  80  yards  distant.  A quiet  halt  was  made.  The 
colonel  looked  puzzled,  and  turning  to  me  he  said,  “ Will  you 
get  a trusty  man  to  slip  quietly  down  to  that  creek  and  ascer- 
tain in  which  direction  it  runs  ? ” 

“ I will  go  myself,”  said  I.  And  going  softly  down  to  the 
creek,  I put  my  hand  into  the  water  to  ascertain  which  way 
the  current  ran.  Having  satisfied  myself,  I looked  around. 
It  was  an  open  space,  not  unlike  Crane  Creek  which  we  had 
left.  Suddenly  I saw  a dark  figure  moving  a little  way  up 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


203 


the  creek,  and  by  the  reflection  of  the  stars  upon  the  water  I 
discovered  our  friend  H.,  the  scout,  who  was  placing  his  foot 
on  a stone  to  step  over. 

‘‘  Is  that  you,  H.  ? ” said  I. 

“Yes.  Wlio  is  that  ? You,  Sergeant  ? 

“ Yes.  Have  you  seen  anything  ? ” 

“ Nothing  at  all,”  said  he ; “ but  I heard  a dog  barking 
over  there.” 

“ Stay  a moment,”  said  I,  “ till  I come  back.” 

A strong  smell  of  wood  burning  came  from  the  opposite  side 
of  the  creek,  but  all  was  quiet.  I went  back  to  the  colonel 
and  reported  : “ The  water  runs  from  the  right  of  the  road  to 
the  left  of  the  road.” 

“ Are  you  sure  of  that  ? ” said  the  colonel. 

“ I am  quite  sure,”  said  I.  “ The  creek  is  clearly  defined, 
and  cuts  the  road  at  right  angles.” 

“ There  is  a mistake  somewhere,”  said  the  colonel.  “ Come 
down  with  me.” 

The  colonel  dismounted  and  we  went  down  to  the  creek 
together.  The  colonel  pondered  : “ There  is  something  wrong 
somewhere.  But,”  said  he,  “ this  must  be  their  camp ; don’t 
you  smell  the  rotten  meat  ? ” 

I did  smell  it  and  burning  wood.  I now  saw  H.,  the  scout, 
and  motioned  him  to  approach.  I went  with  him  a short 
distance  and  found  it  was  a camp  but  newly  deserted.  The 
camp  fires  were  still  burning  and  the  debris  lay  thick  about. 
I went  back  and  told  the  colonel.  He  pondered  and  supposed 
they  had  withdrawn  to  a position  in  the  rear  of  their  camp, 
and  he  went  back  to  see  the  general. 

I followed  up  the  bank  to  my  place  at  the  head  of  the 
column.  I there  found  the  colonel  in  conversation  with  the 
general.  I heard  the  general  say,  “They  must  have  retreated, 
for  there  is  no  other  position  they  could  take  up  of  any  value 
near  that  camp,  or  for  some  miles  beyond  it.” 

The  men  now  drew  a long  breath ; the  immediate  prospects 
of  a battle  were  again  dispelled. 

It  was  now  long  past  midnight.  The  troops  were  ordered 
to  lie  down  on  their  arms  and  rest  till  daylight. 

To  be  on  the  right  of  an  advancing  column,  though  perhaps 
attended  with  a little  more  danger,  has  some  advantages.  In 
hot  dry  weather  you  are  out  of  the  crowd,  have  room  for 
marching,  and  are  free  from  the  stifling  dust.  You  have  also  the 


204 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


first  chance  of  getting  clean  water  from  the  springs  or  creeks 
on  the  road,  before  it  has  been  disturbed  by  the  crowd  in  the 
crush  to  obtain  it.  You  have  also  an  opportunity  of  knowing 
what  is  going  on  by  seeing  clear  in  front  and  being  amongst 
the  leading  commanders,  observing  their  movements  and  hear- 
ing their  conversation. 

As  soon  as  day  dawned  I got  up,  and  with  the  captain 
went  to  have  a look  at  the  enemy’s  deserted  camp.  There, 
already  minutely  inspecting  it,  were  General  McCulloch,  Colonel 
MTntosh,  and  our  own  colonel,  H.  Many  of  the  camp  fires 
were  still  smouldering,  and  the  officers  seemed  to  be  making  a 
survey  of  the  whole  camp  and  surroundings,  with  a view,  I 
presume,  of  forming  some  idea  of  the  composition  and  strength 
of  the  enemy’s  forces. 

The  site  which  had  been  occupied  by  each  battalion  could 
be  traced,  as  well  as  marks  which  indicated  the  arms  of  the 
corps.  The  positions  occupied  by  artillery  or  cavalry  could  be 
traced  by  the  debris  left  behind,  and  which  they  in  their 
sudden  retreat  had  not  burned  or  destroyed.  Amongst  the 
debris  were  a great  many  papers,  such  as  newspapers,  pieces  of 
letters  and  envelopes  addressed  to  men  in  different  corps,  such 
as  ‘‘  Sturge’s  Brigade,  United  States  Army,”  ‘‘  United  States 
Dragoons,”  Totten’s  Battery,  U.S.A.,”  “ Siegel’s  Brigade^’ 
‘‘3rd  Regiment  Iowa  Volunteers,”  and  many  others.  The 
extent  of  their  camp  showed  that  the  enemy  had  a strong  force 
of  efficient  troops,  of  which  a considerable  number  was  of  the 
regular  army  of  the  United  States. 

Their  object  in  retreating  was  rather  inexplicable,  and  from 
conversation  which  I heard  among  the  officers  it  was  deemed 
that  they  must  either  have  overestimated  our  strength,  or  they 
were  executing  some  manoeuvre  to  draw  us  further  away  from 
our  supplies  or  into  some  trap  that  they  might  completely 
annihilate  us. 

General  Lyon  was  known  to  be  one  of  the  best  generals  tlie 
United  States  possessed,  and  it  was  not  easy  to  surmise  what 
strategy  he  might  adopt. 

General  M‘Culloch’s  decision  seemed  to  be  quickly  taken. 
He  ordered  the  column  to  advance  at  once. 

Some  mounted  scouts  were  sent  to  scour  the  country  in  front 
and  reconnoitre,  and  the  column  moved  forward  just  as  the 
sun  was  appearing  above  the  horizon. 

The  country  was  now  more  clear,  open,  and  level,  and  we 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


205 


followed  the  line  of  the  enemy’s  retreat.  The  brushwood  or 
crops  for  about  50  feet  on  each  side  of  the  road  was  cleared  or 
trampled  down  as  if  they  had  marched  in  column  by  companies. 
They  had  left  us  a good  road.  They  had  felled  no  trees  across 
it,  or  placed  any  obstructions  to  retard  our  advance,  as  is 
usually  done  in  a retreat.  They  had  destroyed  no  crops  or 
forage,  so  far  as  I saw,  with  a view  of  preventing  our  obtaining 
provender.  In  fact,  everything  seemed  to  indicate  an  invita- 
tion to  us  to  follow  them.  I presume  our  general  saw  this,  for 
he  acted  with  great  caution. 

The  men  had  had  but  little  rest,  no  breakfast,  little  or 
nothing  in  their  haversacks,  and  hard  toil  and  little  to  eat  for 
several  days,  and  they  w^re  a good  deal  harassed  and  broken 
down,  but  maintained  their  spirit  and  dogged  determination  to 
have  this  matter  out. 

In  the  early  forenoon  the  scouts  reported  that  the  enemy 
was  but  a short  distance  in  front.  The  head  of  the  column 
was  halted  for  files  to  close  up,  but  before  this  was  done  our 
company  was  ordered  to  deploy  in  front  as  skirmishers,  while 
other  companies  deployed  in  line  across  the  road.  This  was 
scarcely  done  when  a small  body  of  the  enemy’s  cavalry  came 
sweeping  down  upon  us.  A few  shots  from  our  rifies  sent 
them  to  the  right  about,  and  they  went  ofi*  as  quickly  as  they 
came.  It  was  evident  that  this  was  only  a rear-guard 
reconnoitring  party,  probably  trying  to  pick  up  some  of  our 
advanced  scouts. 

These  dashes  were  repeated  several  times,  and  the  day  being 
intensely  hot,  it  was  becoming  hard  upon  us.  The  cavalry 
which  was  covering  the  retreat  of  the  enemy  began  to  appear 
in  larger  numbers,  and  McCulloch  ordered  up  two  pieces  of 
artillery  to  the  front,  and  a few  shrapnels  sent  amongst  them 
warned  them  to  keep  at  a more  respectful  distance. 

Shortly  after  mid-day  some  manoeuvring  took  place,  which 
I did  not  understand.  We  had  been  wondering  what  had 
become  of  the  Texas  Rangers,  of  which  we  had  heard  so  much. 
Why  were  not  they,  or  some  other  of  the  mounted  corps,  sent 
to  the  front  to  try  their  strength  with  the  United  States 
Dragoons.  They  now  did  come,  and  went  oflf  on  a detour. 
Our  regimenfi  was  ordered  to  advance  quickly,  and  we  were 
led  off  the  road  through  some  fields  and  into  a wood,  until  we 
came  to  where  the  wood  was  opened  by  a large  field  which  had 
just  newly  been  cleared  of  wheat.  We  were  here  deployed 


206 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


along  the  edge  of  the  wood,  so  far  in  as  to  be  out  of  sight,  and 
ordered  to  sit  or  lie  down,  and  to  keep  quiet  and  concealed, 
and  be  ready  to  fire  upon  the  enemy’s  cavalry,  which  would  be 
certain  to  pass  in  front  of  us  in  a short  time. 

The  men  were  very  ready  to  sit  or  lie  down ; it  was  pleasant 
to  get  a little  rest  in  the  cool  shade,  but  the  cravings  of  hunger 
were  beginning  to  be  severely  felt.  We  remained  in  this  quiet 
position  for  fully  half-an-hour,  but  no  enemy  appeared,  while 
the  men  were  sorely  tempted  by  a large  flock  of  beautiful  wild 
turkeys,  which  came  quietly  along  in  front  of  us  within  30 
yards,  picking  up  and  feeding  upon  the  scattered  fragments  of 
the  wheat,  quite  unconscious  of  our  presence,  or  that  so  many 
loaded  rifles  were  being  pointed  at  them,  and  the  officers  had 
to  use  the  most  determined  exertion  and  threats  to  restrain 
the  men  from  having  a shot  at  them.  It  was  very  tantalising 
to  the  men  as  they  contemplated  how  soon  one  of  the  birds 
would  have  been  roasting  over  a wood  fire,  and  what  a feast  it 
would  have  made  to  starving  men.  I felt  it  more  so  as  they 
came  up  closer,  and  a beautiful  large  gobbler  strutted  up  with 
all  the  pride  and  dignity  of  a city  alderman,  and  looked  me 
straight  in  the  face  with  a defiant  air  as  much  as  to  say,  “You 
know  you  dare  not  fire.”  We  were  glad  when  they  moved  off. 

The  Yankee  cavalry,  however,  were  more  ’cute,  and  had  less 
faith  in  human  forbearance  than  the  turkeys,  and  they  did  not 
come  near. 

This  ambushing  was  tried  several  times  afterwards,  but  I 
never  once  saw  it  successful.  We  were  now  ordered  back  to 
take  our  place  at  the  head  of  the  column,  and  the  troops, 
which  had  been  having  a little  rest,  moved  onwards. 

We  were  now  warned  to  be  careful  of  what  we  had  in  our 
canteens,  as  we  had  a march  of  over  seven  miles  across  a level 
prairie  before  we  would  come  to  a drop  of  water.  At  the  end 
of  that  distance  there  was  a roaring  mountain  spring,  but  the 
place  would  likely  be  occupied  by  the  enemy.  The  sun  was 
broiling  hot,  and  our  canteens  were  already  nearly  empty. 

We  toiled  on,  but  before  we  got  half  way  the  pangs  of 
thirst  had  become  almost  unbearable.  The  heat  seemed  to 
become  more  intense  as  the  afternoon  advanced,  and  the  men 
were  beginning  to  fag.  Many  would  have  dropped  out,  but 
for  the  intimation  that  we  were  likely  to  meet  the  enemy  at 
Big  Springs,  as  the  place  was  called,  and  that  there  there 
were  good  shade  and  plenty  of  water.  At  last  we  began  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


207 


approach  the  high  and  wooded  land  at  the  end  of  the  prairie, 
and  scouts  brought  word  that  there  was  no  enemy  there. 
This  was  pleasing  news,  for  we  were  not  in  very  good  condition 
to  meet  them.  The  pace  was  quickened  and  we  approached 
the  mountain  side,  and  soon  reached  the  spring, — and  a spring 
it  was  ! An  enormous  fountain  bursting  out  of  the  mountain 
side  and  rolling  in  a torrent  down  a stony  creek.  To  dirty 
this  stream  was  impossible,  and  the  men  let  loose  actually 
rushed  into  the  torrent  up  to  their  knees.  The  water  was 
clear,  cool,  and  delicious,  and  what  a luxury  ! It  seemed  the 
greatest  of  all  gratifications.  The  men  drank  almost  to 
bursting,  then  filled  their  canteens.  We  were  allowed  a short 
time  here  to  rest,  and  the  men  took  off  their  shoes  and  wrung 
their  wet  stockings,  some  of  which  were  beginning  to  show  so 
many  holes  that  it  was  difficult  to  know  which  hole  to  put  the 
foot  into. 

It  was  now  near  sunset  and  we  had  been  manoeuvring  in 
the  broiling  sun  since  daybreak,  besides  a long  march  had 
been  accomplished,  and  we  hoped  we  would  bivouac  here  for 
the  night,  but  we  were  ordered  to  march  on  about  two  miles 
farther.  We  had  just  got  to  the  place  where  we  were  to 
bivouac  for  the  night,  when  the  sky  suddenly  darkened  and  a 
violent  thunderstorm  came  on,  and  the  rain  poured  down  in 
torrents.  We  were  drenched  to  the  skin.  Why  did  not  this 
come,  thought  we,  when  we  were  scorched  with  heat  and 
thirst  on  the  prairie*?  We  then  had  too  little  water,  now  we 
had  too  much.  The  rain  was  soon  over  and  we  managed  to 
get  fires  lighted. 

There  was  one  good  thing  at  all  those  bivouacs,  we  could 
always  get  plenty  of  good  firewood  from  the  woods  or  old 
fence  rails.  We  wrung  our  wet  clothes  and  blankets,  and  set 
about  drying  them ; but  the  great  question  was  : Were  we  to 
get  anything  to  eat  ? After  a while  a waggon-load  of  green 
corn  was  brought  in,  and  two  ears  were  served  put  to  each 
man.  Poor  as  this  fare  was,  and  tired  as  we  were  of  the  green 
corn,  it  was  soon  roasted  and  eaten  with  a relish,  followed  by 
a drink  of  water,  and  the  ever-solacing  smoke.  We  then  dried 
our  clothes  and  blankets  as  well  as  we  could,  saw  that  our 
arms  and  ammunition  were  dry,  and  lay  down  upon  our  arms 
among  the  wet  bushes. 

At  daybreak  we  formed  line  again  to  proceed,  and  as  we 
were  ready  to  move  forward  an  aide-de-camp  rode  up  along  the 


208 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


line  and,  coming  up  to  our  company  on  the  right,  told  us  that 
our  march  to-day  would  be  but  a short  one,  as  we  had  not  far  to 
go,  and  we  might  depend  upon  it  that  supplies  would  be  up,  as 
McCulloch  had  sworn  that  if  supplies  were  not  forward  by  this 
evening  he  would  hang  every  waggon-master  and  commissary  in 
the  division  upon  the  oak  trees;  whereupon  there  was  a general 
acclamation  and  a sudden  stepping  forward  of  the  whole  line 
volunteering  to  draw  the  ropes.  He  also  delivered  an  order 
detailing  our  second  lieutenant  to  proceed  to  the  rear  and  act 
for  the  time  as  waggon-master  of  the  brigade.  It  seemed  that 
the  waggon-master  and  several  of  the  commissary  staff  were 
reported  on  the  sick  list — sickness  perhaps  brought  on  by  the 
sound  of  the  firing. , The  second  lieutenant,  grumbling  and 
protesting  that  he  knew  nothing  about  waggons,  proceeded  in 
obedience  to  orders,  being  strictly  enjoined  by  the  boys  to 
remember  the  threat  of  the  general,  and  assuring  him  that 
they  would  have  a piece  of  rope  in  readiness. 

This  appointment  was  no  doubt  owing  to  Lieutenant  B.’s 
name  being  first  on  the  list  for  detached  service,  but,  though 
he  was  a smart  and  active  young  man,  his  occupation  in  civil 
life  was  that  of  a lawyer,  and  what  did  he  know  about  getting 
waggons  over  bad  roads  ? The  appointment  caused  soigae 
comment,  and  the  boys  thought  it  did  not  augur  well  for  the 
waggons  eing  got  up  that  evening.  But  again  it  was  remem- 
bered that  lawyers  were  strange  varmints,  and  if  there  was 
any  possibility  of  a horse  or  a mule  or  a driver  being  cheated, 
flattered,  or  beguiled  into  a little  extra  exertion  it  was  they 
that  could  do  it,  and  it  might  be  all  right  after  all. 

The  column  proceeded,  and  the  march  for  the  day,  as  had 
been  promised,  was  a short  one.  We  came  up  to  another 
creek  called  ‘‘Wilson’s  Creek.”  This  creek  was  about  the 
same  size,  or  a little  larger,  than  the  others,  but  did  not  cross 
the  road  at  right  angles,  but  ran  for  some  distance  nearly  in 
the  same  line  as  the  road.  The  land  on  both  sides  was  higher 
and  somewhat  undulating.  Here  we  halted.  We  had  seen 
nothing  of  the  enemy  since  yesterday  afternoon,  and  we  were 
told  that  they  had  fallen  back  to  Springfield,  which  was  about 
eight  miles  distant.  We  were  allotted  a particular  place 
for  our  bivouac,  and  preparation  was  made  for  a camp,  which 
showed  that  M‘Culloch  intended  to  bring  up  and  concentrate 
his  forces  here  before  making  a further  advance.  The  place 
was  not  a very  advantageous  position  for  defence,  such  as 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


381 


Such  was  the  opinion  of  many  military  men,  and  by  many  it 
was  considered  that  Beauregarde  was  altogether  too  mild  and 
gentlemanly  in  his  disposition  to  be  in  high  favour  with  Davis 
and  his  cabinet,  and  the  arbitrary  measures  of  Bragg  better 
suited  the  imperious  policy  they  had  adopted. 

The  quietness  of  the  camp  at  Tupelo  contrasted  strangely 
with  the  constant  alarms  and  din  of  battle  at  Corinth,  and  it 
being  now  June,  the  shady  position  of  the  camp  among  the 
trees  was  a relief  from  the  heat  endured  in  the  exposed  camp 
at  Corinth.  We  had  no  tents,  but  we  had  got  accustomed  to 
do  without  them.  We  made  large  huts  or  bowers  of  green 
branches,  which  kept  off  the  sun  by  day  and  the  dew  by  night. 
The  weather  was  now  beautiful,  with  very  little  rain.  The 
sick  began  to  recover,  and  the  men  got  their  clothes  washed 
and  mended,  and  to  add  to  their  comfort,  a large  quantity  of 
summer  clothing  arrived  to  be  distributed  among  them.  This 
did  not  come  from  the  army  bureau,  through  the  quarter- 
master’s department,  but  from  the  homes  and  families  of  the 
men  themselves.  This  consignment  was  greatly  augmented  by 
“ ladies’  association  which  had  now  become  a powerful  factor 
in  the  administrat  on  of  the  war,  and,  thanks  to  the  action  of 
General  Butler  * i New  Orleans,  the  zeal  now  displayed  by 
them  was  almost  incredible.  Nothing  seemed  to  be  too  good  for 
them  to  sacrifice.  Beautiful  silk  dresses  had  been  cut  up  and 
made  into  tunics  for  the  soldiers.  Bich  shawls  and  plaids  had 
been  cut  up  and  sewed  together  and  bound  to  form  blankets 
or  wrappers,  and  seemingly  everything  which  could  be  applied 
to  the  use  of  the  soldiers  was  turned  to  account. 

Our  regiment  being  from  Louisiana  came  in  for  a fair  share 
of  these  articles ; and  on  the  following  Sunday  morning,  when 
the  regiment  turned  out  for  parade  inspection,  they  certainly 
presented  a clean  and  neat,  though  somewhat  fantastic,  appear- 
ance ; and  the  pretty  pictures,  as  they  called  them,  on  some  of 
their  beautifully-fiowered  tunics  was  the  subject  of  a good 
deal  of  merriment.  I could  not  help  contrasting  the  difference 
in  the  men’s  appearance  with  the  dirty,  smoke-begrimed, 
ragged  wretches  that  they  were  on  the  retreat  after  Pea  Ridge. 

I think  it  was  on  this  same  morning  that  we  became  aware 
of  another  acquisition  to  the  army  in  the  appointment  of  still 
another  Richmond  official.  It  was,  of  course,  a sinecure 
appointment,  to  provide  for  some  hanger-on  or  minion.  It 
was  something  in  connection  with  the  Inspector’s  Department. 


382 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


This  branch  of  the  service  (if  service  it  could  be  called)  was 
known  to  be  a sort  of  receptacle  for  all  surplus  office-seekers 
that  could  not  be  otherwise  disposed  of — in  fact,  a sort  of 
waste-basket  in  which  to  throw  all  superfluities  when  the  lobby 
got  choked  up  and  it  became  necessary  to  clear  it. 

When  this  poor  ‘‘  critter  ” came  on  with  his  credentials  the 
appointment  was  to  the  old  stand-by  office  of  “assistant- 
inspector,”  with  the  rank  of  captain.  So  many  had  been 
appointed  to  this  office  that  it  had  become  a subject  for  laughter 
and  joking  about.  Our  assistant-inspector  did  not,  however, 
regard  it  in  that  way.  He  had  too  much  self-sufficiency,  and 
came  on  with  an  air  of  great  importance  and  pomposity,  as 
one  possessing  the  full  confidence  of,  and  having  unlimited 
authority  from,  the  imperial  court  at  Richmond.  But,  then, 
what  the  duties  of  his  office  were  to  be  he  did  not  know,  and 
those  who  appointed  him  could  not  tell  him. 

The  officer  to  whom  he  had  been  ordered  to  report,  seeing 
the  nature  of  the  appointment  and  not  knowing  where  to  place 
the  new  comer,  referred  him  to  the  next  in  command,  who 
again  referred  him  to  the  next,  and  so  on,  and  he  was  bandied 
about  from  one  corps  to  another,  until  he  had  no  doubt  got 
irritated  and  perhaps  his  pomposity  a little  subdued. 

In  the  course  of  his  rounds  he  had  been  referred  to  Colonel 
A.  of  our  regiment,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  latter’s  new 
appointment  making  him  the  junior  colonel  of  the  brigade  or 
perhaps  of  the  division. 

Colonel  A.,  if  the  junior  colonel,  was  by  no  means  the 
simplest,  and  he  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 

He  informed  the  newly-made  inspector  that  he  presumed  his 
duty  was  to  inspect  the  arms  of  the  regiment,  and,  therefore, 
as  there  would  be  a general  inspection  on  Sunday  morning,  he 
would  parade  the  regiment  for  this  purpose. 

Our  assistant-inspector  was  now  gratified  that  his  position 
was  acknowledged,  and  he  had  some  idea  of  what  his  duties 
were  to  be,  but  he  had  not  the  least  knowledge  of  the  regular 
form  and  performance  of  an  “ inspection  of  arms,”  and  probably 
thought  that  it  would  be  like  many  other  duties  of  sinecure 
offices — a mere  ceremony,  and  that  he  would  only  take  a look 
along  the  ranks  and  then  express  himself  highly  satisfied.  But 
the  colonel  looked  forward  to  having  a little  amusement. 

“ Inspection  of  arms  ” was  a part  of  the  manual,  and  was 
always  done  by  the  company  officers  before  drill,  and  also  by 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


383 


orderly  sergeants  in  all  details  or  detachments  before  handing 
them  over,  and  by  one  of  the  field  officers  at  a “ regimental 
parade  and  inspection,”  which  generally  took  place  every 
Sunday  morning  when  not  employed  on  more  important 
matters.  It  was  rather  a pretty  performance  when  well 
executed.  Ranks  were  opened,  bayonets  fixed,  rammers 
drawn  and  dropped  into  the  guns,  and  the  men  stood  at 
“ order  arms.”  The  officer  who  inspected  the  arms  began  at 
the  man  on  the  right,  and  each  soldier,  as  he  approached, 
quickly  brought  up  his  piece  into  a position  for  the  officer  to 
take  it,  the  butt  of  the  piece  resting  against  his  left  side,  his 
left  hand  grasping  the  barrel  forward  of  the  lock,  and  the 
muzzle  elevated  and  thrown  slightly  forward.  The  officer 
passed  his  right  hand  under  the  soldier’s  arm,  seized  the  piece 
by  the  small  part  of  the  stock,  stepped  back  two  paces, 
examined  the  lock  that  it  was  clean,  clicked  and  worked 
properly,  examined  the  fixing  of  the  bayonet,  then  shook  the 
ramrod  in  the  barrel  to  show  that  the  barrel  was  empty  and 
clean,  and  in  the  old-fashioned  musket  a sound,  clear  ring 
indicated  that  the  barrel  was  clean  and  in  good  order.  When 
the  officer  satisfied  himself  that  the  piece  was  in  good  order  he 
stood  in  his  place  and  threw  it  to  the  soldier,  who  caught  it  in 
the  air  with  his  right  hand,  and  with  one  motion  came  to  “order 
arms.”  This  throwing  of  the  gun  by  the  officer  and  catching 
in  an  adroit  way  by  the  soldier  had  to  be  done  in  a particular 
way  like  a circus  performance,  and  required  a mutual  con- 
fidence between  officer  and  soldier. 

When  Sunday  morning  came  the  regiment  was  formed  for 
parade  and  inspection.  When  the  usual  manual  had  been 
gone  through,  it  was  formed  into  column  by  companies,  ranks 
opened,  and  the  order  given  to  prepare  for  inspection  of  arms. 
The  soldiers  sprung  their  rammers,  dropped  them  into  their 
guns,  and  stood  at  “ order  arms.”  “Now,  captain,”  said  the 
colonel,  addressing  our  new  inspector,  “ you  will  please  inspect 
arms.” 

The  inspector,  who  was  arrayed  in  a brilliant  captain’s 
uniform,  with  shining  buttons  and  gold  lace  in  profusion, 
which  completely  out-did  our  boys  with  the  pretty  pictures  on 
their  tunics,  now  came  forward.  He  looked  nervous,  and 
hesitatingly  approached  the  front  company,  while  the  colonel 
preserved  a grave  countenance.  The  inspector  went  towards 
the  centre  of  the  company  first,  and  began  to  look  down  at 


384 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  arms  as  the  men  stood  at  “ order  arms/’  but  not  a man 
moved,  and  there  was  a dead  silence — the  men  had  been 
warned  not  to  laugh. 

At  length  the  inspector  happened  to  come  in  front  of  the 
man  on  the  right,  where  he  should  have  begun  at  first.  The 
soldier  quickly  brought  up  his  piece  to  the  position,  the 
inspector  started  back  in  astonishment,  and  a roar  of  laughter 
burst  from  both  officers  and  men.  The  colonel  immediately 
ordered  silence,  and,  going  up  to  the  inspector,  asked  him  if 
he  was  not  going  to  inspect  the  arms  in  the  regular  and  proper 
way.  The  man  had  to  acknowledge  that  he  knew  nothing 
about  it,  and  would  have  to  be  instructed. 

The  colonel,  who  was  a thorough  gentleman,  undertook  to 
show  him,  and  taking  a piece  from  one  of  the  men,  showed 
him  how  to  examine  it,  and  explaining  to  him  as  he  rung  the 
rammer  in  the  barrel  that  a clear  sound  ring  showed  that  the 
barrel  was  clear  and  sound,  and  adding,  “ Let  me  show  you 
how  to  go  through  it.  I will  do  this  first  rank  for  you.” 

The  colonel  quickly  passed  along  the  first  rank,  taking  each 
man’s  piece  and  stepping  back  nearly  four  paces,  inspecting  it 
and  then  throwing  it  back  to  the  soldier,  throwing  it  high  in 
the  air  and  with  such  precision,  and  the  soldier  catching  it 
with  such  adroitness,  that  the  transfer  of  the  gun  from  the 
colonel’s  hands  to  an  order  arms  ” by  the  soldier’s  side  seemed 
to  be  one  unbroken  motion. 

The  inspector  feared  to  undertake  the  throwing  of  the  gun, 
so  the  colonel  told  him  just  to  hand  it  back  to  the  soldier,  and 
hinted  to  him  to  be  quick,  as  the  parade  was  lasting  too  long. 
He  bungled  along  in  any  kind  of  way,  trying  to  get  through 
with  it,  amongst  a good  deal  of  tittering  among  the  men,  in 
which  our  company  had  just  rather  freely  indulged,  and  as 
they  were  then  the  left  flank  company,  they  were  the  last 
to  be  inspected.  He  had  observed  them  laughing,  and  was 
no  doubt  irritated. 

When  he  came  to  inspect  the  company  the  first  rifle  he  tried 
did  not  ring,  the  rammer  fell  with  a heavy  thud.  “ That  gun 
is  dirty,”  said  he  to  the  man.  The  man  was  silent.  The  next 
was  the  same,  and  the  whole  company’s  arms  were  reported  in 
bad  condition.  The  captain  declined  to  take  the  report,  and 
told  him  to  report  to  the  colonel.  The  colonel  coming  up, 
looked  at  the  arms,  and  asked  what  he  found  wrong.  He 
replied  that  the  guns  did  not  ring.  The  colonel  explained  to 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


385 


him  that  these  were  Springfield  rifles,  which  unscrewed  at  the 
breach,  and  therefore  could  not  ring ; but,  continued  he,  when 
you  go  with  them  on  to  the  field  of  battle,  you  will  hear  them 
ring  to  your  utmost  satisfaction. 

Our  inspector  had  little  more  to  say,  and  we  heard  no  more 
of  him.  He  would,  like  hundreds  of  others,  hold  his  sinecure 
appointment  and  draw  his  pay  but  keep  out  of  danger,  strut 
with  his  sword  and  uniform  about  hotels  and  cafes,  visit 
private  families,  and  pass  among  the  ladies  as  a great  warrior. 

The  camp  here  seemed  to  be  in  a good  healthy  position,  and 
the  health  and  condition  of  the  troops  continued  to  improve, 
but  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  appearance  of  active  move- 
ment. The  enemy  made  no  further  advance,  and  it  was  now 
the  general  conjecture  as  to  what  the  next  movement  would 
be.  Beauregarde  had  been  superseded  by  Bragg,  and  the 
troops  in  general  did  not  like  the  change. 

About  the  end  of  June  the  orderly  sergeant,  who  had  been 
elected  to  fill  my  place,  came  to  take  the  position,  which  I 
handed  over  to  him,  and  I got  a temporary  appointment  as 
“ Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General  of  the  Brigade.’’  This 
was  simply  a sort  of  clerk  to  the  adjutant-general,  and  consisted 
mostly  of  consolidating  reports.  The  adjutant-general,  who  had 
been  fonder  of  flying  about  as  an  aide-de-camp,  than  attending 
to  his  reports,  had  let  them  get  very  far  behind.  There  was 
not  much  interesting  in  this  work,  except  that  I saw  the  weak 
state  of  the  brigade,  composed  as  it  was  of  skeleton  regiments, 
some  companies  not  having  more  than  12  privates  “present 
for  duty,”  although  having  the  full  complement  of  officers  and 
non-commissioned  officers.  Our  own  regiment  had  133  officers, 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned,  and  only  about  166 
privates,  present  for  duty,  and  over  40  of  these  were  going 
to  be  discharged  under  the  Conscript  Act.  Of  course  there 
were  a good  many  on  detached  service  and  on  the  sick  list, 
but  the  aggregate  was  under  400 ; of  course,  these  officers 
were  only  in  name,  they  had,  all  under  the  rank  of  captain,  to 
carry  rifles  and  work  as  privates. 

About  this  time  news  came  about  the  successes  of  General 
Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson,  in  Virginia;  that  the  Federal 
General,  Halleck,  had  gone  to  take  charge  of  the  defence  of 
Washington ; that  the  Federal  force  in  front  of  us,  under 
General  Grant,  was  being  divided  for  some  other  movements ; 
and  as  some  alterations  and  improvements  were  being  made  in 

2 B 


386 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


our  camp,  and  wells  were  being  dug  for  a supply  of  water,  it 
seemed  as  if  we  were  to  remain  here  some  time. 

Having  got  through  with  my  work  of  consolidating  reports, 
I was  ordered  to  get  a list  of  all  soldiers  in  the  brigade  who 
were  not  subject  to  military  duty  under  the  Conscript  Act,  and 
who  had  applied  for  discharge,  and  make  out  descriptive  lists 
of  them  and  their  discharges. 

I may  here  say  that  ordinary  writing  paper  had  now  about 
disappeared,  and  all  the  army  forms  and  documents  were  made 
of  some  kind  of  home  manufactured  brown  paper — something 
like  that  used  by  grocers  in  wrapping  up  goods.  It  was 
joyful  news  to  the  parties  when  I went  to  take  their  height, 
colour  of  hair  and  eyes  etc.,  as  they  were  beginning  to  fear, 
now  that  as  Bragg  had  come  into  the  command,  they  would  be 
retained  under  some  pretence.  But  probably  Bragg  had  seen 
the  effects  of  his  former  blind  policy,  and  was  trying  to  regain 
a little  popularity. 

There  was,  in  the  whole  brigade,  about  130  who  were 
entitled  to  discharges  under  the  exemption  clause  of  the  act, 
and  nearly  every  one  took  advantage  of  it.  Our  company  had 
a large  proportion  of  exempts — there  being  five  under  18  years 
of  age. 

The  descriptive  lists  and  discharges  were  all  made  out,  of 
course  including  one  for  myself,  and  I was  ordered  to  take  the 
men  to  the  provost-martial  and  have  them  sworn.  This  being 
done,  he  signed  the  preliminary  to  the  discharges,  attesting 
those  to  be  entitled  to  discharge  in  terms  of  an  act  entitled 
an  “ Act  for  the  Better  Provision  for  the  Public  Defence.” 

I now  took  them  to  the  brigade  commander,  who  spent 
some  time  in  a long  lecture,  and  used  many  arguments  and 
persuasions,  trying  to  induce  them  to  change  their  minds 
and  volunteer  again  for  service  instead  of  accepting  their 
discharge,  but  he  could  make  no  converts,  although  they  all 
promised  to  return  again  to  service  after  a short  holiday, 
which,  I believe,  most  of  them  did, — but  not  under  Bragg. 
He  then  signed  the  discharges,  and  the  order  for  their  pay  for 
service,  and  an  allowance  in  the  way  of  mile  money  for  trans- 
portation to  the  place  where  they  were  enlisted,  and  a pass  to 
go  as  far  as  the  lines  of  the  Confederacy  extended  but  no 
farther. 

My  duty  was  now  done,  and  we  went  to  the  paymaster  and 
got  paid  in  Confederate  scrip,  and  we  were  civilians  once  more. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


387 


We  now  went  and  took  good-bye  with  our  old  companions  in 
arms,  and  got  from  them  many  greetings,  messages,  and  letters 
to  take  to  their  friends  at  home. 

I must  say  that  although  I was  heartily  sick  of  the  service, 
I still  felt  a little  sorry  to  leave  old  friends  with  whom  I spent 
many  happy  hours,  and  had  come  through  many  privations 
and  dangers ; although  it  was  true  that  there  were  but  few  of 
them  left,  in  that  both  company  and  regiment  were  very  much 
altered. 

We  got  by  railway  to  Jackson,  Mississippi,  where  we  parted; 
those  whose  homes  were  in  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  Northern 
Louisiana,  going  to  try  to  get  by  way  of  Yicksburg,  while 
those  of  our  company  proceeded  by  railway  to  Camp  Moore, 
which  was  on  the  New  Orleans  and  Jackson  railroad,  about 
100  miles  north  from  New  Orleans,  intending  to  cross  the 
country  from  there  to  Baton  Rouge. 

Before  leaving  Jackson,  however,  we  heard  news  which 
startled  us,  which  was  that  Baton  Rouge  was  occupied  by  the 
Federal  troops,  and  that  the  town  had  been  bombarded  by  the 
Federal  gun-boats  which  had  been  lying  in  the  river  opposite 
the  town,  and  that,  too,  without  a moment’s  notice,  and  that 
houses  had  been  destroyed,  people  killed,  and  women  and 
children  driven  to  the  woods  in  consternation. 

This  I was  astonished  to  hear.  For,  although  from  all 
accounts  nothing  could  be  too  diabolical  for  Butler  to  do,  yet 
as  regarded  Admiral  Farragut  and  the  officers  of  his  fleet,  they 
were  spoken  of  in  the  very  highest  terms  for  their  honourable 
and  gentlemanly  conduct  even  amongst  the  most  fiery  South- 
erners. 

Camp  Moore  was  as  far  south  as  the  line  was  open ; the 
line  between  that  place  and  New  Orleans  being  torn  up,  and 
the  bridges  destroyed. 

Camp  Moore  had  been  a camp  of  instruction.  Camp 
Walker,  at  New  Orleans,  where  our  regiment  had  been  organ- 
ised the  previous  year,  had  been  found  to  be  unhealthy  and 
unsuitable,  and  the  camp  of  instruction  had  been  removed  to 
this  place.  It  was  now  used  as  a rendezvous  and  training 
camp  for  conscripts,  and  there  were  now  here  of  those  unhappy 
men  about  200 ; and  about  half  that  number  of  Government- 
appointed  officers,  who  knew  little  more  of  military  matters 
than  the  conscripts  whom  they  were  vainly  trying  to  drill 
into  soldiers. 


388 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Of  course  we  considered  ourselves  veterans,  and  did  not 
deign  to  recognise  such  things  as  soldiers  or  officers ; but  we 
also  knew  that  this  was  about  the  limit  of  the  Confederate 
lines,  and  our  passes  did  not  take  us  beyond  this,  and  there 
might  be  some  difficulty  in  getting  beyond  into  what  was 
partly  neutral  territory. 

The  distance  from  Camp  Moore  to  Baton  Rouge  was  about 
40  miles,  and  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  latter  place  we 
wished  to  go. 

We  knew  that  these  conscript  officers  were  mighty  men 
when  at  a distance  from  the  enemy,  and  they  would  stand 
very  high  on  their  dignity  if  we  in  a humble  way  asked  to  get 
passed  the  lines.  We  knew,  therefore,  that  the  only  way  to 
get  passed  was  by  some  device,  and  that  we  could  easily 
contrive,  as  we  saw  that  both  the  men  and  their  officers  were 
perfectly  raw,  and  knew  little  or  nothing  of  guard  or  picket 
duty,  and  we  easily  passed  the  pickets  under  the  guise  of  a 
reconnoitring  party. 

When  we  got  within  20  miles  of  Baton  Rouge,  one  or 
two  of  our  party  were  near  their  homes,  and  we  called  at  the 
house  of  a gentleman  with  whom  most  of  us  were  acquainted, 
where  we  learned  the  particulars  regarding  the  bombardment 
of  Baton  Rouge. 

The  town  had  been  bombarded  and  considerable  damage 
done  to  property,  but  few  people  had  been  hurt ; the  blame 
lay,  not  with  the  Federal  fleet,  but  with  the  Confederate 
Government,  or  rather  with  a band  of  miscreants,  which, 
if  the  Government  did  not  actually  organise  and  direct,  they 
at  least  tolerated  and  acknowledged  to  a certain  extent. 

These  were  a band  of  lawless  men  who  had  with  a view  of 
evading  conscription  organised,  themselves  into  a body  of  what 
they  themselves  termed  rangers  or  guerillas.  They  were 
mounted  on  horses  and  armed,  but  without  order  or  discipline, 
and  under  pretence  of  making  raids  upon  the  enemy,  preyed 
upon  the  helpless  inhabitants,  and  took  especial  care  never  to 
come  within  range  of  the  enemy’s  fire.  They  were  obnoxious 
to  the  peaceful  country  people  on  whom  they  committed  out- 
rages, and  the  latter  on  several  occasions  had  accused  them  of 
cowardice  in  bullying  over  helpless  people,  but  dared  not  face 
the  enemy. 

Some  of  the  Federal  gunboats  had  ascended  the  river,  and 
anchored  ofi*  Baton  Rouge,  and  a small  body  of  troops  had 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


389 


landed  and  taken  possession  of  the  garrison  and  arsenal,  all 
the  Confederate  troops  having  previously  retreated  from  the 
neighbourhood.  The  Federal  troops,  after  formally  taking 
possession,  returned  to  New  Orleans,  but  the  gunboats  still 
remained  in  front  of  the  town,  the  garrison  and  arsenal  being 
under  the  range  of  their  guns,  as  also  the  town. 

A not  unfriendly  feeling  existed  between  the  officers  and 
crews  of  the  gunboats  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  who 
generally  respected  Farragut  and  his  officers,  and  boats  passed 
frequently  between  the  gunboats  and  the  shore ; and  it  seems 
the  officers  and  crews  had  been  in  the  habit  of  sending  ashore 
clothes  to  get  washed. 

One  afternoon  a boat,  containing  some  unarmed  men,  had 
been  coming  ashore  on  that  business,  when  a band  of  about  50 
of  these  guerillas,  headed  by  a notorious  bully,  thinking  no 
doubt  to  cast  off  the  stigma  of  cowardice  which  had  been 
attached  to  them,  hid  themselves  behind  a wall  near  the  place 
where  the  boat  would  land ; and  as  soon  as  it  touched  the 
bank  the  gang  fired  from  behind  the  wall  at  the  unarmed  men, 
but  fortunately  not  doing  them  much  injury. 

The  officers  on  the  gunboats  seeing  their  men  fired  upon  by 
a force  on  shore  immediately  opened  fire  upon  them,  but  the 
cowardly  miscreants  mounted  their  horses  and  rode  into  the 
midst  of  the  fleeing  inhabitants,  selecting  groups  of  terrified 
women  and  children,  into  whom  they  galloped,  trampling  many 
of  them  under  foot,  supposing  that  the  gunboats  would  not 
direct  their  fire  amongst  the  women  and  children. 

The  gentleman  who  related  this  to  us  was  a respectable  and 
somewhat  substantial  farmer  who  had  previous  to  the  war  been 
a strong  Union  man ; but,  nevertheless,  he  had  two  sons  and  a 
son-in-law  in  our  regiment,  from  whom  we  had  brought  letters. 
He  said  the  country  was  infested  by  these  scoundrels,  and  they 
might  annoy  us  as  we  went  towards  Baton  Rouge.  Five  of  us 
were  going  to  within  four  miles  of  Baton  Rouge,  and  we  were 
unarmed,  but,  if  we  had  arms,  we  would  not  care  for  a whole 
troop  of  them  ; and  I asked  if  it  would  be  possible  to  borrow 
some  arms  among  the  settlers,  who  were  generally  well  provided 
with  them,  and  we  were  boiling  with  rage  at  the  cowardly 
villains.  He  said  the  guerillas  had,  in  large  bands,  searched 
every  house  for  arms,  and  taken  away  everything  that  bore 
the  shape ; and  this  was,  no  doubt,  to  make  the  inhabitants 
more  helpless  that  they  might  prey  upon  them  with  impunity. 


390 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


He  advised  us  to  wait  and  have  some  dinner  and  then 
proceed  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  and  if  we  got  within  seven 
miles  of  Baton  Rouge  we  would  be  beyond  the  range  of  the 
guerillas,  as  Baton  Rouge  was  now,  since  the  bombardment^ 
occupied  by  Federal  troops,  and  guerillas  never  ventured 
within  seven  miles  of  an  armed  enemy. 

We  accepted  his  invitation  to  stay  for  dinner,  but  just  as 
we  were  sitting  down  to  table  one  of  his  younger  sons  came  in 
and  said  that  some  guerillas  were  galloping  up  the  road  and 
coming  direct  to  the  house. 

Our  host  desired  us  to  sit  still  and  he  would  go  out  and  talk 
to  them  ; as  there  were  only  five  or  six  of  them  they  would  not 
be  very  bold  or  intent  on  any  outrage. 

He  went  out  and  met  them.  They  were  in  a fearful  state 
of  consternation,  and  fleeing  for  refuge.  They  told  a sad  story 
of  a terrible  defeat,  and  probable  overthrow  of  the  Confederacy, 
Their  army,  as  they  called  it,  had  been  that  morning  defeated 
and  cut  to  pieces  by  a large  force  of  the  Federal  troops,  which 
had  advanced  from  Baton  Rouge,  and  they  alone  had  escaped 
to  tell  the  tale. 

Our  host,  who  had  been  listening  to  their  sad  story,  and 
seeing  that  their  attitude  now  was  anything  but  hostile,^ made 
a motion  for  us  to  come  out,  saying  to  them  that  here  was  a 
party  of  men  from  the  regular  army  who  might  probably  have 
something  to  say  on  the  matter. 

We  were  wishful  to  get  a sight  of  those  redoubtable  warriors, 
and  came  out  to  the  gallery  to  have  a look  at  them. 

Their  appearance  was  anything  but  formidable — a more 
scared  and  abject-looking  set  of  wretches  it  would  be  difficult 
to  describe.  The  day  was  sweltering  with  heat.  Their  horses, 
lean  with  bad  care  and  worse  usage,  were  foaming  with  per- 
spiration and  staggering  under  them.  They  themselves,  pale 
and  terror-stricken,  were  shaking  from  actual  fear.  On  seeing 
us  appear  they  got  more  frightened,  and  seemed  inclined  to 
ride  off,  but  I,  as  representing  the  captain  of  the  party,  ordered 
them  in  an  authoritative  tone  to  stand  still  and  report  the 
particulars  of  the  battle.  It  was  easy  to  be  seen  that  these 
were  no  leaders  of  the  gang. 

I questioned  them  as  to  their  leaders,  but  they  said  that 
they  always  took  the  best  horses  and  had  outstripped  them  in 
the  flight,  and  they  believed  that  by  this  time  they  would  be 
across  the  Amite  River.  I then  questioned  them  about  the 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


391 


battle.  They  could  give  no  account  of  where  it  had  taken 
place,  but  that  it  was  somewhere  this  side  of  Baton  Bouge. 

“ What  was  the  amount  of  the  enemy’s  force  ? ” 

That  they  could  not  tell,  but  supposed  that  it  could  not  be 
less  than  40,000.  [We  had  here  to  stop  the  boys  from 
laughing.]  They  added  that  the  enemy  had  a great  lot  of 
cannons,  and  asked  if  we  did  not  hear  the  firing  of  cannons. 

“ How  many  men  did  they  have  killed  ? ” 

That  they  could  not  tell,  but  they  knew  there  must  have 
been  plenty. 

Further  questioning  brought  out  that  they  had  not  seen  the 
enemy  at  all,  but  had  heard  the  firing  of  artillery  and  thought 
they  heard  the  shot  rattling  among  the  trees. 

Our  host,  who  knew  some  of  their  friends,  told  them  that 
they  had  got  into  bad  company,  and  advised  them  to  go  home, 
and  if  they  wanted  to  fight  for  the  Confederacy  to  go  and  join 
the  regular  army  like  men  and  give  up  the  cowardly  guerilla 
system,  and  they  went  ofi*  promising  to  do  so. 

Having  had  dinner  and  some  rest,  we  proceeded  on,  two  of 
our  party  expecting  to  reach  their  homes  the  same  night. 

The  following  day  we  got  to  within  four  miles  of  Baton 
Bouge,  and  our  party  was  reduced  to  two — myself  and  one  of 
the  youngest  of  the  boys,  and  we  wished  to  go  into  the  town. 

The  town  was  occupied  by  the  Federal  troops  to  the  number 
of  about  7000  and  surrounded  by  a picket  guard;  and,  although 
we  had  our  discharges  in  our  pockets  and  they  could  not  make 
us  prisoners  of  war,  yet  we  did  not  want  to  be  arrested  by  the 
picket  guard  and  led  as  prisoners  into  the  town,  and,  as  we 
considered  we  were  old  hands,  we  would  evade  the  pickets  and 
get  past  them  in  some  way. 

The  lad  had  friends  who  lived  about  two  miles  from  the 
town,  and  to  their  house  we  went.  These  people  were  farmers, 
and  were  in  the  habit  of  driving  into  the  town  daily  with  milk 
and  produce,  and  they  undertook  to  get  the  lad  past  the  pickets, 
and  I learned  from  them  that  one  of  the  posts  was  at  the  wood 
factory  on  the  river  belonging  to  our  business  firm. 

I then  went  to  the  house  of  a planter  which  was  near  the 
river  bank,  about  half  a mile  above  the  factory,  and  with  whom 
I had  always  been  friendly.  He  was  astonished  and  glad  to 
see  me,  and  as  he  had  a standing  pass  he  went  into  the  town 
and  brought  out  my  partner,  who,  owning  the  works  where 
the  picket  was  placed,  had  also  a standing  pass.  I then 


392 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


changed  my  clothes  and  foraging  cap  for  a suit  of  a more 
civilian  cut,  and  walked  with  my  partner  into  the  works,  and 
we  walked  about  as  if  looking  at  various  things  pertaining  to 
them. 

The  works  were  stopped  and  all  business  at  a stand.  The 
guard  station  was  on  the  river  bank,  about  the  middle  of  the 
works,  and  they  used  the  gallery  of  the  office  as  a shade  from 
the  sun  and  rain.  The  guard  were  Germans,  ignorant,  and 
could  scarcely  speak  English,  but  full  of  importance  and 
swagger.  My  partner  held  out  a piece  of  paper  to  them,  and 
I did  the  same ; the  papers  looked  like  passes,  and  we  knew 
they  could  not  read  them,  but  they  knew  him  to  be  the  owner 
of  the  place.  We  kept  looking  at  things  and  talking  as  if  on 
business,  and  eventually  passed  on  into  the  town. 

As  we  passed  the  garrison  and  ordnance  ground,  I could  see 
it  was  filled  up  with  troops  and  the  ground  covered  with  tents. 
Several  of  the  regiments  were  on  parade  at  the  time.  Their 
troops  were  not  in  better  training  than  ours,  nor  indeed  so 
good,  as  our  old  volunteer  regiments,  but  they  were  much 
better  equipped,  and  certainly  had  the  appearance  of  being 
much  better  fed^  clothed,  and  quartered. 

On  our  way  through  the  principal  street  we  went  into  a 
large  cafe,  where  a number  of  Federal  officers  were  assembled 
drinking  and  playing  billiards,  with  whom,  on  terms  seemingly 
of  the  highest  friendship,  were  several  of  the  same  fiery 
politicians  who  eighteen  months  before  in  the  same  spot  had 
so  loudly  advocated  secession  and  war,  and  pledged  themselves 
to  fight  and  die  in  the  cause.  I felt  so  incensed  at  their 
treachery,  and  having  now  become  bold  and  pugnacious,  that  I 
would  certainly  have  gone  up  to  them  and  publicly  charged  them 
with  their  treachery  and  cowardice,  but  my  partner  restrained 
me,  and  reminded  me  of  the  position  I was  in,  and  the  way  I 
had  entered  the  town,  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  me 
to  go  to  the  provost-martial  and  report  my  arrival,  and  then  I 
should  go  as  soon  as  possible  to  New  Orleans  and  get  a certifi- 
cate from  the  British  consul  that  I was  a British  subject; 
this  being  the  way  that  all  foreigners  who  had  not  become 
naturalised  citizens  of  the  United  States  had  done,  and  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  in  those  troublesome  times. 

It  was  now  night ; we  went  home.  I stayed  that  night  at 
my  partner’s  house,  and  in  the  morning  I went  to  the  provost- 
martial’s  office  and  reported. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


393 


The  provost-martial  asked  to  see  my  discharge,  which  I pro- 
duced, and  he  recorded  the  name.  He  asked  me  if  I would 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States.  I said  no. 
He  then  asked  me  if  I would  accept  a parole.  I said  no,  that 
I was  a British  subject  and  would  go  to  New  Orleans  and  con- 
sult the  consul.  He  said  it  was  well  that  I had  reported,  as 
he  had  been  apprised  of  my  having  come  into  the  town,  and 
was  just  going  to  have  me  arrested.  I then  knew  that  some  of 
the  parties  whom  I had  seen  in  the  cafe  on  the  previous 
evening  had  given  the  information,  and  I said  so  to  him.  He 
would  not  tell  me  who  had  given  the  information,  but  said  it 
was  one  who  had  been  very  active  in  promoting  secession.  I 
asked  him  if  he  trusted  such  traitors.  He  said  no,  but  he 
wished  to  let  us  know  how  these  advocates  of  secession  had 
kept  their  faith.  He  then  asked  me  about  the  Confederate 
army  at  Tupelo.  I said  I would  give  him  no  information. 
He  then  asked  me  if  I had  seen  any  guerillas,  of  whom  he 
seemed  to  have  an  intense  hatred.  I said  I would  give  him 
every  information  I could  about  them  as  I did  not  recognise 
them  as  any  branch  of  the  Confederate  service,  or  as  men 
engaged  in  any  kind  of  warfare.  I then  related  the  terrible 
scare  they  had  got  two  days  before,  and  said  they  (the  Federal 
troops)  would  confer  a great  favour  on  the  peaceful  inhabitants 
for  20  miles  around  if  they  would  go  once  or  twice  a week 
a mile  or  two  into  the  country  with  a few  pieces  of  artillery 
and  fire  off  a few  rounds  of  blank  cartridge,  as  that  would 
frighten  every  guerilla  from  the  neighbourhood  and  drive  them 
away  across  the  Amite  Biver. 

He  laughed  at  the  suggestion,  and  asked  if  the  Confederate 
Government  recognised  them.  I said  I could  not  tell  as  I had 
never  heard  of  them  until  I came  within  20  miles  of  Baton 
Rouge. 

I then  left  him  and  took  a look  round  the  town,  and  called 
on  the  families  to  whom  I had  letters  and  greetings  from  their 
sons  and  friends  in  the  army,  and  received  visits  from  old 
friends  who  had  been  members  of  the  company,  but  who  had 
retired  or  had  been  discharged  on  account  of  wounds  or  bad 
health,  among  whom  was  our  old  major,  who  had  suffered 
much  from  the  campaign  and  now  looked  10  years  older. 
His  son,  who  had  left  us  when  we  were  mustered  into  service, 
was  preparing  to  go  and  join  the  company  if  he  could  get  out 
past  the  pickets. 


394 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


The  people  of  the  town  in  general  had  not  on  the  whole  a 
great  deal  to  complain  of  from  the  behaviour  of  the  occupying 
troops. 

The  general  in  command,  General  Williams,  was  a brave, 
upright,  and  strict  officer,  and  did  not  allow  any  insult  or 
outrage  to  be  committed  on  the  inhabitants,  and  the  notorious 
Butler  had  not  ventured  to  go  beyond  New  Orleans. 

I had  a great  desire  just  to  see  this  personage  of  whom  I 
had  heard  so  much,  for  all  accounts  seemed  to  agree  as  to  his 
infamous  character. 

I looked  along  the  town  to  see  the  effects  of  the  bombard- 
ment. It  had  been  pretty  severe.  Large  shot-holes  were  to 
be  seen  in  many  of  the  houses,  and  along  the  street  fronting 
the  river  they  were  thickly  pitted  with  the  marks  of  grape  and 
canister,  and  it  seemed  a miracle  that  so  few  people  had  been 
injured. 

One  gentleman  told  me  that  a shot  passed  through  his  house 
and  smashed  the  gas  meter,  and  the  gas  issued  so  rapidly  that 
he,  with  his  family,  had  barely  time  to  get  out  and  escape 
suffocation.  He  did  not  know  where  to  run  to  for  safety; 
but  he  remembered  that  a dry  ditch  ran  along  the  side  of  his 
garden.  Into  this  he  got  with  his  family,  where  he  jnade 
them  lie  down,  while  the  shots  continued  to  whiz  over  them. 
But  in  this  they  were  not  allowed  to  remain. 

Between  the  ditch  and  the  boundary  wall  was  a row  of 
beehives,  and  a shot  taking  a bee  line,  as  he  called  it,  knocked 
down  the  whole  row  of  beehives,  and  tumbled  them  with  their 
tenants  down  into  the  ditch  on  the  top  of  him  and  his  family. 

The  bees,  angry  at  being  disturbed,  stung  most  furiously, 
and  they  had  to  get  out  and  run  for  their  lives.  Threatened 
by  cannon  shot,  suffocated  by  gas,  stung  by  bees,  he  did  not 
know  what  to  do  next.  Fortunately  the  firing  then  ceased, 
but  he  considered  himself  singularly  unfortunate. 

About  the  third  day  after  I got  to  Baton  Rouge,  I found  a 
steamer  going  to  New  Orleans,  and  I got  a passage  on  her. 
The  steamer  was  an  ordinary  river  passenger  boat,  but  carried 
two  light  howitzers  on  her  hurricane  deck,  and  a company 
of  riflemen,  on  account  of  the  guerillas  who  on  one  or  two 
occasions  had  hid  behind  the  river  embankments  and  fired 
upon  unarmed  vessels,  and  it  was  presumed  that  the  appearance 
of  a gun  on  the  upper  deck  would  be  sufficient  to  frighten 
them  away. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


395 


As  soon  as  it  became  known  to  this  rifle  company  that  I 
had  served  in  the  Confederate  army,  they  were  exceedingly 
friendly,  and  welcomed  me  as  a soldier,  even  if  I should  be 
a secesh,  as  they  called  the  Confederates,  being  a corruption 
of  the  word  secession.  There  were  two  Scotchmen  among 
them,  and  we  talked  of  the  singularity  of  the  position  which 
thus  made  us  enemies  and  opposed  to  each  other.  Many 
of  the  other  soldiers  were  intelligent  men,  and  joined  in  the 
conversation. 

They  brought  up  the  subject  of  the  guerilla  warfare,  which 
was  the  cause  of  them  being  on  the  steamer,  and  accused  the 
Confederate  Government  of  maintaining  such  a system  of  war- 
fare. I said  I doubted  much  if  the  Confederate  Government 
recognised  it,  and  thought  they  might  safely  treat  as  outlaws 
any  they  caught,  and  hang  them. 

The  general  question  of  the  war  was  next  discussed.  I 
maintained  that,  although  I had  been  fighting  for  the  Confed- 
eracy against  Northern  aggression,  I was  not  a votary  of 
slavery.  I had  no  interest  in  it,  or  connection  with  it,  but 
was  rather  opposed  to  it,  and  that  a very  large  number  in  the 
South  were  opposed  to  it,  although  on  quite  difierent  prin- 
ciples from  the  New  England  political  Abolitionists.  Those 
opposed  to  it  in  the  South  had  never  yet  expressed  their  senti- 
ments openly  in  politics,  but  their  influence  would  soon  have 
been  felt,  and  as  the  white  population  increased,  the  institu- 
tion would  die  out  of  itself  as  it  had  done  and  was  still  doing 
in  the  Middle  States. 

They  most  emphatically  repudiated  the  insinuation  that 
they  were  fighting  to  abolish  slavery ; that  were  such  a thing 
in  any  way  sought  to  be  embodied  in  the  principles  for  which 
they  were  fighting,  they  would  rebel  and  lay  down  their  arms ; 
and  some  of  them  were  ofiended  that  such  an  insinuation 
should  be  thrown  out  by  tne. 

Then  what  were  they  fighting  for  I asked. 

“For  the  Union;  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  Union, 
and  nothing  else.^’  The  question  of  slavery  they  maintained 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  for  which  they  were 
fighting. 

“ Then  when  you  were  so  wishful  to  preserve  the  Union,” 
said  I,  “ why  elect  a president  that  was  obnoxious  to  a part 
of  the  Union,  and  whose  election  might  lead  to  a rupture. 
Whatever  may  be  the  question  before  us  now,  there  can  be 


396 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


no  doubt  that  the  question  of  slavery,  and  the  election  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  as  affecting  the  slavery  question,  caused  the  rup- 
ture and  dissolution  of  the  Union.  Would  it  not  have  been 
more  patriotic  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  have  said.  If  my  election 
should  tend  to  endanger  the  Union,  I will  rather  retire  than 
be  the  cause  of  a rupture  or  dissolution  of  the  Union 

“No,  no,’’  they  replied  vigorously,  “ that  would  be  conced- 
ing to  the  South  the  right  to  approve  or  disapprove  of  any 
president  we  might  elect.  Had  Mr.  Lincoln  been  an  Aboli- 
tionist, it  would  have  been  a different  matter,  and  the  South 
might  have  had  some  reason  to  complain.  But,  had  he  been 
an  Abolitionist,  he  never  would  have  been  elected.  His 
views  on  slavery  were  moderate,  and  he  was  opposed  to  inter- 
fering with  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  already  existed,  and 
the  act  of  the  States  in  seceding  for  such  a frivolous  cause  was 
unjustifiable.” 

“ I quite  agree  with  you,”  said  I,  “in  so  far  as  the  States 
were  not  justified  in  seceding.  But  you  must  admit  that 
under  the  Constitution  there  seemed  to  have  been  no  power  to 
prevent  them.  And  that  is  the  important  point  that  I wish 
to  come  to.  The  secession,  so  far  as  Louisiana  was  concerned, 
was  not  carried  out  by  the  unanimous  will  of  the  people,  but 
by  the  machinations  of  a set  of  scoundrel  politicians,  some  of 
whom  I now  see  hob-nobbing  with  your  officers  in  Baton 
Rouge.  You  are,  I presume,  now  fighting  to  uphold  the 
Federal  authority.  But  when  the  helpless  people  were  crushed 
under  the  feet  of  those  unprincipled  usurpers  who  had  pos- 
sessed themselves  of  the  arsenals  and  arms,  where  was  the 
Federal  authority  then  ? Had  one  of  those  ships  which  are 
now  lying  at  Baton  Rouge  been  sent  there  when  these  politi- 
cians went  through  their  mimicry  of  secession,  the  whole  thing 
would  have  been  crushed  in  the  bud.  The  people  would  have 
respected  the  Federal  authority,  and  the  integrity  of  the  Union 
been  preserved.  But  what  is  the  use  of  talking  of  Union  and 
Federal  authority  when  that  authority  does  not  protect  the 
people,  maintain  the  constitution,  or  enforce  the  laws. 

“ Oh,”  answered  they,  “ as  to  the  States  having  the  right  to 
secede  that  is  questionable,  and  at  best  only  arose  from  an 
oversight  or  slight  omission  in  the  constitution.  But  it  has 
all  along  been  the  unwritten  constitution  and  a long  cherished 
principle  both  North  and  South.  And  as  to  the  imbecility 
of  the  Federal  authority,  that  was  the  fault  of  Buchanan’s 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


397 


Government,  for  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  responsible,  for 
as  soon  as  he  got  into  power  he  took  steps  to  enforce  the 
Constitution.’’ 

“No,”  said  I,  “I  do  not  admit  that.  He  got  into  power  on 
the  4th  of  March ; every  day  then  was  adding  to  the  strength 
of  the  Secessionists  and  increasing  the  danger,  yet  he  took  no 
steps  or  gave  any  indication  of  what  steps  he  would  take  until 
after  the  middle  of  April,  when  he  issued  his  proclamation, 
giving  the  ultimatum  of  submission  or  the  sword,  which  roused 
the  South  to  a man,  and  sent  into  the  field  the  former  Union 
and  law-abiding  people,  who  are  now  fighting  the  battles  of 
the  South.” 

“ Talking  of  the  proclamation,”  said  they,  “ that  was  after 
the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter.  What  do  you  think  of 
that  act  ? Do  you  approve  of  it,  or  did  you  consider  it 
justifiable  ? ” 

“ Gentlemen,”  said  I,  “I  wish  you  to  remember  that  I 
think  I am  speaking  the  minds  of  the  moderate  or  Union 
party  of  the  South,  as  the  sentiment  was  at  that  time,  and  I 
did  not  approve  of  it ; because  it  was  a foolish  act,  and  was 
just  playing  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Seward,  who  sought  to 
bring  it  about  so  as  to  rouse  the  Northern  people,  and  I do 
not  consider  it  justifiable.  But  still  I consider  it  no  more  an 
outrage  than  the  seizure  of  the  arsenal  at  Baton  Bouge,  or 
any  other  of  the  arsenals  or  forts  in  the  South  ; which  had 
been  done  without  protest  or  interference  of  the  Federal 
Government.” 

At  this  time  the  steamer  stopped  at  Donaldsonville,  and 
orders  were  sent  on  board  to  the  commander  of  the  detachment, 
and  our  discussion  was  brought  to  a close,  the  troops  having 
got  orders  to  prepare  to  land  with  their  arms. 

When  I was  told  this,  and  saw  them  preparing,  I said  to 
them,  in  a jocular  way,  .that  if  it  was  to  fight  guerillas  they 
were  going  ashore,  I would  be  very  happy  to  join  them,  if  they 
would  give  me  a rifie,  just  to  show  them  how  I was  opposed  to 
the  barbarous  system  of  guerilla  warfare.  I was  told,  how- 
ever, it  was  not  that,  but  that  upon  two  sugar  estates,  a little 
way  down,  the  slaves  had  revolted,  and  refused  to  work,  and 
they  were  going  ashore  to  coerce  them,  and  put  down  the  revolt. 

I said  that  if  this  was  the  case  I would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it,  for,  although  I was  a Confederate  soldier,  I would 
never  take  up  arms  to  maintain  or  enforce  slavery ! 


398 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


This,  of  course,  produced  a loud  laugh,  with  exclamations  of 
« Very  good  for  you,  secesh  ! ” 

In  a short  time  the  steamer  arrived  at  the  plantations 
referred  to,  and  was  run  into  the  river  bank  and  the  troops 
landed.  I thought  I might  as  well  go  along  and  see  what 
would  be  done.  The  plantations  were  right  on  the  river  bank 
and  adjoining  each  other.  The  troops  were  marched  up  to  the 
quarters  where  the  negroes  were  assembled,  headed  by  some 
plantation  negro  lawyers,  who  were  the  ringleaders.  These 
immediately  began  to  set  forth  their  grievances,  but  the  officer 
told  them  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  grievances.  He  was 
simply  there  to  enforce  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  if  they 
thought  that  the  Federal  troops  were  in  Louisiana  with  the  object 
of  freeing  the  slaves  they  were  very  much  mistaken,  and  if 
any  of  them  thought  or  tried  to  take  advantage  of  this  war  to 
stir  up  any  revolt  or  disobedience  to  their  masters  they  would 
be  severely  punished. 

Some  of  the  ringleaders  were  then  seized  and  put  into  the 
stocks,  exclaiming  as  they  went  along — “ My  Got  ! Dis  is 
more  worserer  dan  Jeff.  Davis  ! The  others  were  ordered  to 
take  up  their  hoes  and  proceed  to  their  work,  and  the  troops 
again  embarked. 

“ Now,”  said  several  of  the  men  to  me,  after  they  had  got 
on  board,  “ does  that  look  like  fighting  to  emancipate  the 
slaves  ? I think  you  will  be  satisfied  now  that  we  are  not 
fighting  to  abolish  slavery.” 

I said  that  “ whatever  might  be  the  cause  of  the  war,  or 
whatever  might  be  the  issue,  the  act  I had  seen  done  was  a 
very  judicious  one,  and  necessary  for  the  present  at  least.” 

Any  further  discussion  only  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
war  was  brought  on  by  politicians,  who  were  now  keeping  out 
of  danger  and  fattening  on  the  spoils. 

When  I got  to  New  Orleans  I found  that  the  regular  consul 
was  absent  on  leave,  but  there  was  a gentleman  acting  as 
consul.  On  my  producing  the  necessary  testimony  he  gave  me 
a certificate,  testifying  that  I was  a British  subject ; but  he 
informed  me  that  the  certificate  would  be  of  no  use  or  protec- 
tion, if  I violated  neutrality. 

I then  looked  about  for  a day  or  two  to  see  the  state  of 
things  under  Butler^s  rule. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DOBING  THE  WAR. 


i 


CHAPTER  XXYII. 


NEW  ORLEANS  UNDER  BUTLER’S  RULE— MODE  OF  EXACTING  RANSOM  FOR 
TREASON— BATTLE  AT  BATON  ROUGE— REFUGEES  CONVERTED  TO  UNIONISM 
RECONVERTED  BY  BUTLER— HIS  OBSEQUIOUS  FOLLOWERS— SOCIALISM  AND 
SERVILISM— A COMPULSORY  INTERVIEW  WITH  THIS  PERSONAGE— HIS 
PRETENDED  DEFIANCE  OF  FOREIGN  POWERS— INCREASED  HATRED  BETWEEN 
THE  PARTIES— DESTRUCTION  OF  PROPERTY  AT  BATON  ROUGE— ESCAPE  FROM 
NEW  ORLEANS. 

I SOON  found  that  a perfect  reign  of  terror  prevailed  in  Xew 
Orleans.  No  one  was  for  a moment  certain  of  his  liberty. 
It  was  no  doubt  true  that  when  the  Federal  troops  first 
occupied  the  city,  there  had  been  some  demonstrations  of 
disrespect  or  incivility  made  towards  them.  But  these  did 
not  proceed  from  the  peaceful  inhabitants  in  general,  but  from 
a number  of  political  loafers  and  secession  spouters,  who  had 
been  instrumental  in  bringing  on  the  war,  but  took  good  care 
not  to  join  the  army,  or  take  part  in  the  dangers  of  the 
hostilities  they  had  created.  Instead  of  leaving  the  city,  and 
keeping  within  the  Confederate  lines,  they  preferred  to  remain 
within  the  Union  lines,  where  they  would  be  free  from  con- 
scription, and  show  their  zeal  and  patriotism  by  hissing  and 
hooting  at  the  Federal  troops,  and  then  if  arrested  they  would 
be  able  to  pose  as  martyrs,  by  having  suffered  imprisonment 
for  the  Southern  cause. 

These  people,  however,  Butler  did  not  much  notice  except 
when  one  of  them,  in  great  braggadocio,  pulled  down  the 
United  States’  ffag  from  where  it  had  been  hoisted  on  the 
Mint ; for  this  Butler  hanged  him. 

This  was  certainly  a rather  high-handed  and  questionable  act, 
and  a good  deal  was  said  about  it.  It  took  place  before  I 
went  to  New  Orleans,  and  I never  knew  the  exact  particulars. 
But  I heard  it  often  said  that  this  was  perhaps  not  Butler’s 
worst  act,  and  that  if  he  had  applied  the  same  rope  to  a 
few  more  of  that  class,  no  very  serious  loss  would  have  been 
entailed  upon  society. 

But  such  were  not  the  class  of  men  that  Butler  marked  out 
for  his  victims.  Such  men  had  no  substance,  and  there  would 

2c 


402 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


not  be  much  to  be  got  from  them,  and  they  might  be  con- 
verted and  become  useful  to  him.  He  directed  his  attention 
to  the  more  respectable  and  substantial  class,  who  were 
possessed  of  some  means,  and  from  whom  something  was  to 
be  obtained. 

With  them  it  did  not  require  any  demonstration  such  as 
hissing,  hooting,  or  groaning  to  warrant  an  arrest — a mere  look 
or  smile  of  irony  was  sufficient,  and  it  was  said  that  it  got  to 
be  that  no  cause  at  all  was  required,  beyond  the  possession  of 
money,  or  other  portable  valuables. 

'No  man,  let  his  conduct  be  what  it  might,  was  certain,  when 
he  rose  in  the  morning,  whether  he  might  or  might  not  spend 
next  night  in  jail. 

I quote  a case  of  which  I knew  many  similar : — 

A man  is  sitting  down  to  breakfast  with  his  family ; he  is 
a merchant  of  considerable  means,  and  has  a store  and  warehouse 
well  stocked  with  goods ; while  at  breakfast  a party  of  soldiers 
marches  up  to  his  door,  and  he  is  ordered  to  come  along. 
He  is  not  told  of  any  charge  against  him,  and  he  is  not  allowed 
to  ask  any  questions.  He  is  taken  off  to  Butler’s  bastile. 
No  charge  is  made  against  him — no  trial,  no  prospects  of 
his  release.  He  is  suspected  of  treason,  and  his  arrest  is 
necessary  for  the  common  good.  His  weeping  family  are  left 
behind,  a guard  is  put  upon  the  house,  and  no  one  is  allowed 
to.  go  in  or  out.  The  house  is  of  a high  class  and  richly 
furnished. 

In  a few  days  an  official  comes  along  and  takes  an  inventory 
of  the  property,  mercantile  goods,  and  house  furniture  of  the 
party  arrested,  which  are  supposed  to  be  confiscated. 

The  wife,  who  has  never  been  allowed  to  leave  the  house, 
naturally  grasps  at  anything  from  whence  the  slightest 
information  may  be  obtained,  and  would  eagerly  inquire  if  he 
knew  anything  about  her  husband.  ‘‘  What  was  the  charge 
against  him  ? Where  was  he  confined  ? Would  he  get  a trial  ? 
How  long  would  he  be  likely  to  be  confined  ? ” 

Alas  ! he  could  tell  nothing  of  the  charge.  These  were 
terrible  times ; black  treason  was  rampant.  It  was  no  doubt 
considered  that  the  arrest  was  necessary  for  the  public  good. 
He  could  not  say  where  he  was  confined,  but  most  likely  he 
would  be  in  the  casemates  of  Fort  Jackson.  He  might  be 
there  a very  long  time ; the  chance  of  his  release  was  very 
small  indeed. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


403 


“ Good  God  ! ’’  screams  the  lady ; “in  the  casemates  of  Fort 
Jackson  ! Oh  horrible  ! he  will  soon  die  there.^’ 

“ I can  quite  believe  you,  madam.” 

“ O Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me  ! Can  nothing  be  done  to 
save  him?  Would  not  money  do  it?  I would  sacrifice  every 
dollar  I have  in  the  world.  But  oh  ! I must  save  him  ! ” 

“ Money  will  sometimes  do  a great  deal ; but  I fear  the  case 
is  hopeless.  General  Butler  is  a stern  man,  and  nothing  will 
move  him.  The  times  are  desperate,  and  desperate  measures 
are  resorted  to.” 

“ O Lord,  help  me  ! Surely  something  can  be  done  to  get 
him  justice.  Do  tell  me  if  there  is  any  chance.  I,  will  not 
grudge  any  amount ; I will  sacrifice  all  I have.” 

“ Well,  madam,  I can  do  nothing  for  you ; but  you  might 
try  some  of  those  gentlemen  who  have  influence  at  head- 
quarters. Perhaps  they  might  be  able  to  do  something  for 
you  if  you  go  rightly  about  it.” 

“ Oh  tell  me  who  they  are  and  w^here  I might  see  them  ! ” 

“ Well,  you  might  see  Judge  M.  at  such  a place;  but  don’t 
say  that  I told  you  about  him,  and,  mind  you,  it  is  a very 
dangerous  thing  to  go  about,  and  you  must  make  no  inquiries, 
but  answer  every  question  he  puts  to  you.  It  will  take  a 
great  deal  of  money,  but  you  must  not  higgle  about  that.  I 
don’t  say  that  he  will  get  your  husband  released — that  will 
depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  charge  against  him  ; but,  if  any 
man  can  do  it,  he  can.” 

“ When  can  I see  Judge  M.  ? ” inquires  the  lady  eagerly, 

“ Well,  the  best  time  to  see  him  will  be  about  three  o’clock 
in  the  afternoon.  Not  to-day,  because  I think  he  will  not  be 
at  his  office,  but  to-morrow  at  that  time  you  might  see  him 
and,  so  saying,  he  takes  his  leave. 

The  said  official,  who  has  by  this  time  pretty  well  measured 
the  extent  of  the  distressed  lady’s  means  and  the  depth  of  her 
anxiety  about  her  husband,  has  an  interview  with  the  so-called 
Judge  M.  and  apprises  him  how  the  land  lies. 

The  poor  lady,  after  passing  a sleepless  night,  counts  the 
minutes  till  three  o’clock  on  the  following  day,  and  before  that 
hour  she  is  at  the  chambers  of  Judge  M.  After  waiting  about 
an  hour  in  the  ante-room,  she  is  admitted  into  his  presence. 

Judge  M.,  who  is  “as  mild  a mannered  gentleman  as  ever 
scuttled  ship  or  cut  a throat,”  is  not,  as  the  word  would  imply, 
a dispenser  of  justice  in  the  legal  sense  of  the  term.  He  was 


404 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


what  was  known  at  that  time  as  a sort  of  passport  and  pardon 
broker.  He  was  not  in  partnership  with  Butler  (as  Butler 
would  have  no  partners — he  reserved  the  whole  of  the  plunder 
for  himself),  but  he  knew  Butler’s  price,  and  he  must  extort 
his  commission  from  his  unfortunate  clients.  He  receives  the 
lady  in  his  blandest  manner  and  with  extreme  commiseration. 
He  explains  that  the  charges  against  her  husband  are  of  a 
very  serious  nature,  and  he  fears  it  will  be  a very  difficult 
matter  to  obtain  his  release ; her  husband  may  be  innocent — 
indeed  he  had  no  doubt  of  it,  but  then  information  had  been 
laid  against  him  which  must  be  acted  upon.  He  had  no  doubt 
that  the  information  had  been  laid  by  those  whom  her  husband 
had  supposed  to  be  his  good  friends,  men  who  professed  strong 
Southern  proclivities,  and  had  been  instrumental  in  stirring 
up  this  rebellion.  It  was  through  such  men  by  means  of  enor- 
mous bribes  that  information  was  obtained  of  those  who  were 
sympathisers  and  movers  in  the  rebellion,  and  whose  arrest 
and  confinement  were  considered  necessary  for  the  public 
good ; and  as  such  a system  of  intelligence  was  kept  up  at  an 
enormous  expense,  and  no  adequate  provision  was  made  by  the 
Government  for  this  intelligence  department,  it  had  in  a great 
measure  to  be  self-sustaining.  Therefore  any  movement  in  the 
matter  would  be  attended  with  enormous  expense.  It  was  no 
doubt  much  to  be  regretted  that  for  security  it  was  necessary 
to  confine  political  prisoners  in  Fort  Jackson,  where  their 
health  was  so  much  endangered.  It  was  true  that  after  a 
certain  time  they  would  be  sent  to  Fort  Lafayette,  at  Hew 
York ; but  if  once  sent  there  all  hopes  of  their  release  might 
be  abandoned. 

The  poor  lady,  who  is  too  agitated  and  engrossed  in  her 
husband’s  safety  to  see  in  her  counsellor  a quondam  fiery 
secession  demagogue,  or  to  fathom  his  drift,  half  screams  out 
an  inquiry  of  what  the  terms  for  his  release  would  be. 

He  blandly  informs  her  that  there  is  no  sudi  thing  as  terms. 
The  thing  would  have  to  be  gone  about  in  the  most  delicate 
and  intricate  way,  requiring  large  sums  of  money  for  every 
movement,  which  of  course  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  disclose, 
and  she  must  bear  in  mind  that  they  were  now  in  the  midst 
of  dreadful  times.  But  to  cut  the  matter  short,  if  she  would 
bring  to  him  a sum  of  say  7000  dollars,  he  would  try  what 
could  be  done  with  it;  but  she  must  bear  in  mind  that 
she  must  keep  the  matter  strictly  private  and  make  no 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


405 


comments  or  inquiries,  as  the  slightest  comment  would  lead 
to  her  husband^s  perpetual  imprisonment ; and  if  his  release 
was  effected,  any  remarks  on  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done 
would  lead  to  his  immediate  rearrestment. 

The  lady  takes  her  leave,  and  strains  every  exertion  to 
obtain  the  7000  dollars,  which  she  hands  to  Judge  M.,  who 
promises  to  do  his  utmost  endeavours  to  get  her  husband 
released,  who  after  a few  days  might  be  set  free  on  taking 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  save  his  property  from  confiscation. 

This  is  no  overdrawn  picture,  but  an  actual  occurrence,  and 
several  such  cases  came  under  my  personal  observation.  I 
found  the  reports  that  had  been  circulated  about  Butler’s 
actions  were  in  no  way  exaggerated. 

I was  preparing  to  return  to  Baton  Rouge,  when  I was 
astonished  to  find  that  I would  not  be  permitted  to  leave,  and 
that  no  one  was  nov/  allowed  to  go  to  that  place,  as  it  was 
reported  that  a battle  had  been  fought  there,  an  attack  having 
been  made  on  the  town  by  the  Confederate  troops  under 
General  Breckenridge. 

I thought  there  could  be  no  truth  in  the  report,  as  I had 
left  Breckenridge’s  division  at  Tupelo,  and  I saw  no  appear- 
ance of  any  movement.  I also  thought  it  would  be  a piece  of 
folly  to  attempt  an  attack  on  Baton  Rouge,  as  the  place  was 
completely  covered  by  the  ships  and  gun-boats  on  the  river, 
against  which  the  Confederate  forces  would  be  of  no  avail, 
and  they  would  be  driven  back  by  the  fire  from  the  fleet. 

Nevertheless,  the  report  turned  out  to  be  true.  What  the 
results  of  the  battle  were,  it  was  difficult  yet  to  know,  as  there 
were  all  manner  of  rumours.  Of  course  the  Butler  newspapers 
described  it  as  a great  victory  for  the  Federal  troops,  but  that 
was  a matter  of  course. 

In  a few  days,  however,  steamers  began  to  arrive  from  Baton 
Rouge,  bringing  a number  of  wounded,  and  a large  number  of 
families  whose  houses  had  been  destroyed,  and  who  were 
fleeing  for  safety. 

I could  never  understand  the  object  of  the  Confederates  in 
making  this  attack ; they  could  never  achieve  any  success  or 
derive  any  benefit  from  it.  It  seemed  to  have  been  a mean- 
ingless action,  barren  of  any  results,  entailing  considerable  loss 
to  both  sides,  and  redounding  in  advantage  or  credit  to  neither, 
while  it  inflicted  great  injury  on  the  peaceful  inhabitants  of 
the  place. 


4Q6 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


On  the  part  of  the  Confederates  it  was  as  unskilfully  carried 
out  as  it  was  unwisely  conceived.  They  gained  nothing,  and 
had  at  last  to  retire  before  the  fire  of  the  fleet,  with  the  loss  of 
a number  of  men  and  two  pieces  of  their  artillery.  Among 
the  former,  was  said  to  have  been  a Major  Todd,  a brother  of 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  President  of 
the  United  States,  but  who  was  fighting  on  the  Southern  side. 

On  the  part  of  the  Federals,  it  left  their  force  considerably 
demoralised,  many  of  their  troops  had  been  driven  to  the  river 
bank,  and  had  to  take  refuge  under  the  fire  of  the  gun-boats. 
They  lost  a number  of  men,  among  whom  was  the  brave  and 
respected  General  Williams,  and  it  led  to  the  evacuation  of 
the  place  for  a time  after  burning  and  destroying  a large  part 
of  the  town. 

I found  it  was  now  impossible  to  get  out  of  New  Orleans. 
Parties  from  the  country  might  be  admitted  in,  under  guard 
and  surveillance,  but  no  one  was  allowed  to  go  out,  even  by 
sea,  to  a foreign  country,  without  paying  a heavy  ransom  to 
obtain  the  necessary  permission  and  passports  to  pass  the  Forts 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  even  if  any  chance  of  conveyance 
ofiered,  which  was  very  rare.  I have  known  vessels  bound  to 
a foreign  port  being  detained  for  weeks  under  the  guns  of  Fort 
Jackson,  on  the  plea  of  some  deficiency  in  their  papers  or 
passports,  and  parts  of  their  crews  or  passengers  brought  back 
to  New  Orleans,  and  only  allowed  to  proceed  after  paying 
enormous  sums  in  the  way  of  bribes. 

I would  now  even  have  tried  to  get  out  of  the  country  had 
it  been  possible,  but  my  means  were  limited,  and  the  business 
with  which  I had  been  connected  had  been  for  some  time 
suspended  on  account  of  the  war.  And  for  all  moneys  due  to 
the  firm,  they  had  been  compelled  to  accept  Confederate  scrip 
in  payment,  and  that  was  now  at  great  discount,  and  to  me 
in  New  Orleans  altogether  valueless,  besides,  I could  not  now 
get  to  see  any  of  my  former  partners  in  business,  so  I had  to 
make  the  best  of  it  for  a time. 

Many  of  the  people  who  now  came  into  New  Orleans  were 
of  those  who  had  always  been  of  Union  sentiments,  and  had  as 
far  as  possible  refrained  from  taking  any  part  in  the  secession 
movement,  and  came  to  seek  protection  under  the  Union  flag ; 
but  a taste  of  Butler’s  rule  soon  made  secessionists  of  them  if 
they  had  never  been  before. 

Butler  continued  his  outrages  unchecked,  and  nothing  was 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


407 


now  so  clearly  illustrated  as  that  the  most  brutal  tyrant  that 
ever  disgraced  humanity  had  his  myriads  of  obsequious  para- 
sites who  in  the  most  servile  manner  obeyed  his  every  command 
and  applauded  his  most  diabolical  actions ; and  these  were  the 
very  men  who  had  been  loudest  in  their  outcry  against  tyranny, 
and  the  most  forward  in  the  championship  of  men’s  rights  and 
liberties. 

These  did  not  so  much  exist  in  the  troops  under  his  com- 
mand, whose  duty  was  only  to  obey,  as  in  the  numerous 
sycophants  who  sought  offices  and  favours  under  his  rule,  and 
who  could  persuade  a class  of  ignorant  and  weak-minded  men 
who  easily  become  infatuated  and  are  ever  ready  to  prostrate 
themselves  before  some  idol  of  their  own  creation,  or  to  deify 
a bubble  which  may  float  upon  the  surface  of  any  impure 
element  when  stirred  up  by  violent  agitation. 

Nothing,  perhaps,  was  so  observable  as  the  change  in  the 
tone  of  the  daily  newspapers.  Those  journals,  which  had 
before  the  war  been  distinguished  by  their  ultra-secession 
principles,  were  now  loudest  in  denouncing  the  rebellion,  and 
applauding  the  policy  of  Butler  and  justifying  the  most 
diabolical  of  his  acts.  It  is  true  that  these  papers  may  have 
been  coerced  by  Butler,  or  bought  over  and  now  used  as  his  own 
organs.  There  was,  however,  one  honourable  exception,  the 
New  Orleans  Picayune^  which  never  had  been  an  ultra-secession 
paper,  and  still  even  under  Butler’s  rule  maintained  its 
independence. 

Butler  continued  to  hunt  for  treason,  and  all  material  which 
could  contribute  to  it  he  confiscated.  He  found  it  existed 
extensively  in  the  vaults  of  banks,  in  merchants’  safes,  in  rich 
men’s  houses,  among  their  stores  of  plate  and  other  valuables. 
It  was  even  said  that  he  dug  for  it  in  the  graves  in  the 
cemetery,  under  the  belief  that  some  of  the  traitors  had  buried 
it  there.  This,  however,  I cannot  vouch  for ; it  was  only  told 
to  me,  and  it  may  be  an  exaggeration. 

His  headquarters  were  in  the  Custom-house,  an  extensive 
building  of  granite,  and  from  a large  richly  furnished  mansion 
which  he  inhabited  (and  which,  of  course,  had  been  confiscated 
for  treason)  to  the  Custom-house  he  was  driven  daily  in  a 
splendid  carriage,  surrounded  by  a numerous  mounted  body 
guard,  and  with  more  pomp  and  display  than  I have  ever  seen 
accorded  to  a European  monarch.  He  then  sat  in  imperial 
dignity  in  his  judgment  seat,  and  pronounced  sentence 


408 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


according  to  his  undisputed  will  on  the  numerous  unfortunate 
wights  who  were  daily  brought  before  him.  To  see  such 
autocratic  power  vested  in  such  a man,  and  the  lives  and 
liberties  of  so  many  thousands  in  his  hand,  and  subject  to  his 
whim  or  caprice,  seemed  to  me  to  be  strangely  anomalous  in  a 
nation  which  had  so  long  borne  the  name  of  being  the  great 
seat  and  home  of  human  liberties. 

I had  seen  this  personage  only  once,  as  he  sat  in  his  carriage 
at  the  funeral  of  General  Williams,  bedecked  with  all  the 
feathers  and  tinsel  that  could  be  crowded  on  to  a major- 
generahs  uniform,  and  surrounded  by  his  guards.  There 
seemed  to  be  such  an  amount  of  pomp  and  vanity  displayed 
about  his  person,  which  contrasted  so  much  with  the  ragged 
and  dirt-begrimed  generals  in  the  field,  that  I thought  he 
looked  like  a vain  old  jackanapes,  and  I could  not  attribute  to 
him  all  the  diabolical  cunning  that  he  was  said  to  possess,  and 
I wished  to  have  a closer  look  at  him. 

My  wish  was  gratified  sooner  than  I expected,  and  in  a way 
I did  not  anticipate. 

About  this  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  secretly 
jubilant  over  General  Lee’s  successes  in  Virginia  and  the  heavy 
losses  he  had  inflicted  on  M‘Lellan’s  army,  compelling  them  to 
retire  to  a position  on  the  J ames  River.  This  was  represented 
by  the  Federal  newspapers,  not  as  any  repulse,  but  that 
M‘Lellan  was  merely  making  a change  of  base,  and  of  course 
no  other  version  of  it  dare  be  breathed  in  New  Orleans. 

Nevertheless,  a portrayal,  or  caricature,  supposed  to  be 
cut  from  some  pictorial  paper,  probably  some  foreign  publica- 
tion, was  shown  about  among  them  in  secret. 

This  cartoon  represented,  somewhat  extravagantly,  the 
burning  of  the  supplies  and  disorderly  flight  of  the  Federal 
army  before  the  Confederate  troops,  and  was  headed  with  this 
title — ‘‘  M‘Lellan’s  Grand  Change  of  Base  ! ” 

The  secret  circulation  of  this  picture  was  known  to  Butler, 
and  greatly  irritated  him.  It  was  strictly  suppressed  as  a 
treasonable  production,  and  if  found  in  the  possession  of  any 
one  the  possessor  would  be  doomed  to  Fort  Jackson. 

It  so  happened  that  one  Sunday  afternoon,  I was  walking 
with  some  friends  when  a heavy  shower  of  rain  caused  us  to 
seek  shelter  in  a caf4,  where  a number  of  people  had  taken 
refuge  from  the  rain.  While  there  some  amusement  was 
caused  by  two  dogs,  which,  following  the  fashion  of  the  times, 


m THE  SOUTH  DUltiNG  THE  WAR. 


409 


began  to  fight,  and,  as  they  could  not  both  be  victorious,  at 
last  the  weaker  took  to  flight ; and,  as  fighting  was  now  the 
fashionable  theme  of  conversation  among  those  who  were  not 
engaged  in  it,  some  jocular  remarks  were  made  about  the 
fighting  capacities  of  the  respective  dogs.  When  thinking  to 
perpetrate  a joke  I,  rather  unguardedly,  said,  in  regard  to  the 
dog  that  was  beaten,  that  he  was  not  beaten,  that  he  was 
simply  “ making  a change  of  base  ! ” This  of  course  produced 
a laugh,  and  I thought  I had  said  something  smart. 

The  rain  was  now  over,  and  we  went  out  and  walked  to  the 
corner  of  Canal  Street,  where  we  stood  and  talked  for  a few 
minutes. 

While  standing  there  a person  tapped  me  on  the  shoulder 
and  desired  me  to  speak  aside  for  a moment.  I stepped  aside 
with  him,  when  two  others  came  up,  and  they  told  me  to  come 
along  with  them.  I demanded  to  know  what  they  wanted, 
but  they  told  me  to  come  along  and  ask  no  questions. 

I was  taken  to  the  Custom-house,  and  taken  into  a large 
room  in  which  were  a number  of  those  spy  detectives  and  their 
menials,  the  latter  mostly  speaking  with  a strong  German 
accent.  Their  bounce  and  bullying  swagger  knew  no  bounds. 
I took  out  my  pocket-book  and  tore  out  a leaf  and  wrote  a note 
in  pencil  to  a solicitor  whom  I knew,  and  who  was  an  English- 
man and  well  versed  in  international  law,  and,  I think,  was 
solicitor  for  the  British  consul,  and  generally  attended  to  cases 
of  British  subjects.  This  note  I requested  them  to  forward. 

The  name  seemed  to  irritate  them,  and  they  sneeringly  asked 
if  I thought  that  my  being  a British  subject  would  protect  me, 
saying  that  I would  find  that  General  Butler  did  not  care  for 
all  the  British  powers  and  all  the  queens  and  kings  in  the 
world.  They  then  seized  my  pocket-book,  as  they  had  seen  in 
it  treasonable  documents  in  the  shape  of  bank-notes. 

I hoped  that  I would  not  have  to  remain  overnight  in  this 
place,  as  this  part  of  the  building,  which  seemed  to  be  the  civil 
or  detective  department,  was  simply  horrible.  There  were 
several  large  apartments  like  vaults  leading  off  from  arched 
corridors  lighted  by  gas,  all  filthy  in  the  extreme,  in  which 
lounged  bloated  politicians,  now  holding  some  kind  of  office, 
and  who  ordered  about  a lot  of  menials,  mostly  Irish  and 
Germans,  who  swaggered,  smoked,  and  drank  lager  beer,  and 
eulogised  the  immortal  Butler ; while  prostitutes  of  the  lowest 
class  and  of  all  colours  prowled  round  about  and  in  the  build- 


410 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


ing,  and  I was  glad  when  I was  sent  round  to  the  military 
guard-house,  where  there  was  at  least  a little  more  cleanliness, 
order,  and  respect.  When  I made  it  known  to  the  guard  that 
I had  been  a soldier  in  the  Confederate  army  I was  treated  with 
much  more  respect.  I was  told  by  the  officer  of  the  guard  that 
I would  be  taken  in  the  morning  before  Butler  himself,  who 
had  all  cases  brought  before  him  in  the  first  instance,  some 
of  which  he  dealt  with  himself  according  to  his  notion,  others 
he  deputed  to  other  tribunals  to  be  disposed  of. 

In  the  morning  accordingly  I was  taken  before  this  great 
personage. 

General  Butler  sat  alone  in  his  room  dressed  in  his  full 
uniform  and  sword.  On  the  table  before  him  lay  a loaded 
revolver,  and  at  the  door  stood  two  sentinels,  and  a number  of 
soldiers  in  the  ante-room,  with  orderlies  in  attendance.  No 
one  was  allowed  into  the  room  except  those  who  sought  and 
were  granted  an  audience,  or  culprits  and  their  accusers. 

When  I was  ushered  into  the  room,  Butler  was  engaged  in 
a game  of  Billingsgate  with  an  Irish  woman,  who  had  obtained 
an  audience  to  beg  a special  favour,  which  was  to  ask  permis- 
sion to  go  and  see  her  son,  who  was  within  the  Confederate 
lines  at  Mobile. 

Butler,  whose  greatest  accomplishment  in  his  civil  capacity 
as  a lawyer  and  a politician  was  his  proficiency  in  Billingsgate, 
had  no  doubt  granted  this  audience  with  the  view  of  having 
a little  “ set-to  by  way  of  exercising  his  powers  and  keeping 
himself  in  practice.  He  seemed  to  have  had  his  usual  sagacity 
in  making  a good  selection,  and  he  had  certainly  got  a foeman 
worthy  of  his  steel. 

It  would  be  as  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  badinage 
which  passed  between  the  two  as  it  would  be  unedifying  to 
hear  it,  but  while  they  were  engaged  in  their  war  of  words  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  surveying  this  Mokanna. 

A more  forbidding  and  ill-favoured  personage  I never  saw. 

His  appearance  did  not  so  much  portray  the  cunning 
trickster,  as  it  betokened  a sort  of  compromise  between  the 
proud,  semi-sanctified  autocrat  and  the  depraved  sot. 

He  had  two  eyes  vastly  different  in  expression.  From  one, 
seemed  to  look  out  benignity,  and  from  the  other,  malignity. 
He  might  oe  said  to  possess  a good  eye  and  an  evil  eye,  which 
he  might  use  according  to  circumstances.  Near  to  the  evil  eye 
there  was  something  like  a large,  swollen  projection  on  the 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


411 


cheek,  which  at  first  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  Irish  woman  had 
given  him  a blow  there ; but  I afterwards  observed  that  it 
was  permanent,  and  reminded  one  of  the  fox’s  bag  of  tricks,” 
in  which  were  stored  up,  as  in  a sort  of  out-house,  such  infernal 
devices  as  could  not  by  nature  be  admitted  within  the  human 
brain.  It  also  seemed  to  serve  as  a sort  of  bastion  for  the 
demon  eye  to  retreat  behind  when  confronted  by  the  stern 
gaze  of  noble  sentiment. 

His  head  was  large  and  flabby,  and  nearly  destitute  of  hair 
— except  a little  at  the  sides,  which  was  just  the  colour  of  his 
epaulets. 

He  maintained  the  contention  with  his  opponent  with  a 
coolness  which  showed  that  in  that  system  of  warfare  at  least 
his  generalship  excelled.  He  lay  back  in  his  chair  and 
retorted  with  a provoking  smile  of  ironical  politeness,  which 
acted  strongly  upon  the  temper  of  his  opponent,  who  at  length 
seemed  unable  to  restrain  herself  much  longer,  and  summing  up 
her  patience,  and  addressing  him  in  a mild,  direct  way,  said — 

“ Well,  now.  General  Butler,  the  question  is.  Are  you  going 
to  give  me  a passport  or.  are  you  not  ? ” 

He  coolly  leant  back  in  his  chair  and  with  a provoking 
smile,  slowly  replied,  “No,  woman,  I will  never  give  a rebel 
mother  a pass  to  go  to  see  a rebel  son.” 

She  gazed  at  him  for  a moment,  and  then  as  coolly  and 
deliberately  replied  : “ General  Butler,  if  I thought  the  devil 
was  as  ugly  a.  man  as  you,  I would  double  my  prayers  night 
and  morning  that  I might  never  fall  into  his  clutches.”  So 
saying,  she  bolted  out,  passed  the  sentinels,  and  disappeared. 

Butler  then  turned  his  evil  eye  upon  me  with  a hideous 
stare,  and  said  : “ Well,  sir,  what  do  you  want?” 

I replied  that  I did  not  know ; I had  been  brought  here,  but 
I did  not  know  what  for. 

“ Oh  no,  of  course  not ; ” said  he,  “ no  one  ever  knows  what 
they  are  brought  here  for,  but  we  will  be  able  to  show  you 
before  we  are  done  with  you.  Here,  orderly,  where  is  the 
charge  against  this  man  ? ” 

I was  about  to  speak.  He  ordered  me  to  hold  my  tongue, 
but  I would  not.  I said  I was  a British  subject,  and  would 
have  counsel  to  attend  to  my  case. 

“ Oh,  a British  subject  of  course,”  roared  he,  “ I know  that 
they  are  all  British  subjects  now  in  New  Orleans.  The  rebels 
are  all  getting  dressed  in  the  garb  of  British  subjects,  or  some 


412 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


other  d d foreign  power,  but  I will  see  to  that.  What  is 

the  charge  against  this  fellow  ? ” said  he  to  the  man  who  had 
now  come  with  the  charge. 

“ Treasonable  language,  sir,”  said  the  man  in  a tone  of 
servile  importance,  as  he  handed  Butler  a paper. 

Butler  read  the  paper  over,  and  then,  after  an  expression  of 
impatience,  handed  the  paper  back  to  the  man,  and  said  : 
“ Here,  take  this  fellow  to  Judge  B.” 

The  man  with  a disappointed  look,  and  somewhat  crest- 
fallen, went  with  me  to  Judge  B.,  who  occupied  chambers  in 
another  part  of  the  building.  I knew  now  that  I was  all 
right.  I knew  J udge  B. ; he  was  a very  different  man  and  in 
very  different  capacity  from  the  Judge  M.  I have  referred  to. 
He  was  a judge  in  the  proper  and  legal  sense  of  the  word,  and 
had  acted  in  that  capacity  in  New  Orleans  previous  to  the 
war.  What  part  he  took  when  the  war  broke  out  I did  not 
know,  but  he  had  the  name  of  being  a pretty  honourable  man. 

When  I was  taken  before  him,  he  asked  my  accuser  what 
was  the  charge  against  me.  The  man  handed  him  the  paper, 
which  he  read  over.  He  then  asked  the  man  if  he  had  any 
further  evidence  to  give  against  me.  The  man  said  he  had 
heard  me  uttering  some  offensive  language  about  Butler  and 
his  d d Dutch  minions.  This,  however,  on  my  cross-ques- 

tioning, he  admitted  to  have  been  after  I had  been  arrested. 

Judge  B.  then  told  the  man  to  retire  and  wait  outside  until 
he  would  call  for  him.  He  (Judge  B.)  then  asked  to  see  my 
certificate  as  a British  subject,  and  then  put  a few  questions, 
but  told  me  that  I need  not  mind  to  send  for  my  solicitor,  and 
that  it  was  very  likely  that  my  accusers  had  never  delivered 
the  note.  He  then  gave  me  an  admonition,  in  which  he  told 
me  to  remember  the  position  in  which  the  city  was  placed, 
being  a conquered  city  and  under  martial  law,  and  reminded 
me  that,  although  some  of  the  acts  of  General  Butler  might 
not  be  altogether  what  might  be  approved  of,  yet  the  inhabi- 
tants suffered  from  no  outrage,  rapine,  or  plunder  from  the 
troops,  as  had  often  been  the  case  with  conquered  cities.  It 
was  therefore  my  duty  as  a foreigner  and  a neutral  to  abstain 
from  making  any  remarks  which  would  be  irritating  to  either 
party,  and  he  counselled  me  to  be  more  guarded  in  my  expres- 
sions in  future  with  regard  to  dogs  “ changing  base,”  or  General 
Butler  and  his  “ German  minions.” 

* All  Germans  wiere  generally  called  “ Dutch  ” in  the  United  States. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


413 


I could  not  but  admit  that  his  reasoning  was  very  fair,  and 
I did  not  attempt  to  advance  any  arguments.  I then  asked 
about  my  pocket-book,  and  it  was  returned  to  me  with  about 
half  of  the  money  extracted ; but  I might  console  myself  with 
the  reflection  that  I was  very  fortunate  in  getting  any  of  the 
money  back,  which  was  considered  a most  extraordinary  and 
unaccountable  circumstance. 

He  then  called  the  man  and  told  him  to  show  me  the  way 
out,  which  he  did  with  more  civility  than  he  had  brought  me 
in.  I was  quite  astonished  at  having  got  ofi*  so  easily.  My 
friends  were  also  astonished.  But  it  seemed  to  me  that  Butler, 
notwithstanding  his  outward  show  of  disregard  for  foreign 
powers,  did  not  on  the  whole  like  to  meddle  with  such  cases, 
but  handed  them  over  to  Judge  B. 

There  was  at  this  time  a smart  little  British  war  steamer 
called  the  Rinaldo  which  often  visited  New  Orleans.  She  was 
commanded  by  a Captain  Jewit,  or  He  wit,  I forget  which. 
The  Southern  party,  British  subjects,  and  foreigners  in  general, 
held  this  gentleman  in  high  estimation  as  one  of  whom  Butler 
stood  in  wholesome  dread ; and  there  were  many  stories  cur- 
rent among  the  haters  of  Butler — and  their  name  was  legion — 
of  the  gallant  acts  of  this  young  officer  in  cowing  down  the 
“ Beast  Butler,”  as  he  was  called,  and  bringing  him  to  his 
senses  on  questions  regarding  British  subjects. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  some  of  those  stories  were  exagge- 
rated, or  perhaps  without  much  foundation ; but  there  is  no 
question  that  Captain  Hewit  was  very  zealous  in  his  protec- 
tion of  British  subjects  and  very  prompt  in  his  actions,  and  he 
afforded  great  support  to  the  British  consul,  and  curbed  the 
overbearing  tyranny  of  Butler  and  compelled  him  to  respect 
the  rights  of  British  subjects,  notwithstanding  his  outward 
braggadocio  and  pretended  disregard  for  foreign  powers. 

It  had  always  been  - regarded  as  a sine  qua  non  in  the 
stepping  stone  to  popularity  among  the  lower  class  of 
American  politicians  to  maintain  a hostile  and  defiant  attitude 
towards  all  foreign  powers,  and  particularly  towards  John 
Bull.  This  feeling  was  confined  more  to  the  lower  class  of 
Irish  and  Germans  than  to  native  Americans,  and  it  was 
among  the  lowest  classes  that  Butler  sought  and  ever  could 
obtain  popularity.  He  therefore  strove  to  maintain  an  outward 
appearance  of  a defiant  attitude,  and  caused  his  newspaper 
organs  to  trumpet  forth  some  pretended  instances  of  his  firm 


414 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


and  determined  policy  in  dealing  with  foreign  agencies, 
although  his  real  actions  might  be  very  different. 

The  bitter  hatred  which  existed  in  New  Orleans  between 
the  Federals  under  Butler  and  the  Confederate  inhabitants 
had  now  become  intense. 

The  Confederate  flag  was  three  bars  of  red,  white,  and  red, 
and  the  exhibition  of  anything  representing  it  was  considered 
treason,  and  strictly  forlDidden ; and  the  displaying  of  some- 
thing emblematical  of  this  was  often  done  in  a vindictive 
spirit  by  the  Confederates. 

Three  lines  drawn  with  red  and  white  chalk  in  this  rotation 
upon  a gate  or  door  would  cause  that  gate  or  door  to  be 
demolished  by  Butler’s  patriots,  and  the  perpetrators  to  be 
imprisoned,  or  the  owner  of  the  property  to  be  arrested. 
Ladies  appeared  in  the  street  and  in  the  street  cars  with  three 
roses  in  their  bonnets,  arranged  with  a red  rose  on  each  side 
and  a white  rose  in  the  centre.  Of  course  any  gentlemanly  officer 
would  take  no  notice  of  such  things,  but  Butler’s  sycophants,  to 
show  their  zeal  and  patriotism,  would  go  up  to  a lady  and  tear 
the  roses  out  of  her  cap  and  trample  them  under  their  feet. 

I may  say,  however,  that  such  actions  were  confined  to  men 
who  had  been  made  officers  under  Butler,  just  because  they 
would  condescend  to  such  actions ; but  such  a spirit  did  not 
pervade  the  Federal  officers  in  general. 

Butler  hung  out  United  States  flags  over  the  pavements  in 
the  principal  streets,  while  the  Confederates,  to  show  their 
hatred  of  the  flag  would  step  off  the  pavement  or  cross  the 
street  to  avoid  passing  under  it.  Butler  then  stretched  strings 
of  flags  across  the  streets  from  side  to  side,  and  latterly  placed 
guards  near  the  flags  to  seize  any  person  who  tried  to  avoid 
them,  and  compel  them  to  pass  under  them.  Ladies,  as  they 
were  being  dragged  past  under  them,  would  try  to  cover 
their  heads  with  their  shawls,  or  put  up  their  umbrellas.  In 
fact,  such  nonsensical  absurdities  were  carried  to  such  an 
extreme  on  both  sides,  that  every  day  some  new  amusement 
was  furnished  for  such  as  could  afford  to  laugh. 

Every  kind  of  business  was  now  suspended,  except  what 
was  conducted  under  the  directing  power  of  Butler  himself,  or 
by  those  to  whom  he  granted  special  privileges,  for  which,  of 
course,  they  would  pay  him  the  requisite  tribute.  These 
privileges  were  only  granted  to  his  true  and  loyal  followers, 
and  were  something  upon  the  old  Roman  publican  system. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


415 


The  principal  business  done  under  this  mandate  was 
speculation  in  sugar  and  cotton.  The  latter  being  now  at  an 
enormous  price,  and  the  seizure  and  confiscation  of  this  com- 
modity belonging  to  private  individuals  under  plea  of  some 
breach  of  regulations,  or  releasing  it  again  on  payment  of  an 
enormous  ransom,  became  a very  common  practice. 

Several  paying  institutions  were  established  in  the  city 
under  the  direction  and  control  of  Butler,  among  which  were 
two  extensive  and  elegantly  fitted  up  gambling-houses.  Such 
institutions  on  a small  and  private  scale  had  not  been 
altogether  unknown,  but  all  these  had  been  virtuously  put 
down  by  Butler’s  orders. 

It  was  now  about  the  middle  of  August.  The  people  of 
New  Orleans  had  been  looking  forward  to  an  avenger  which 
they  expected  to  come  through  a desperate  source,  which  was  a 
visitation  of  that  terrible  scourge  the  yellow  fever,  which,  had 
it  come,  would  have  compelled  the  Federals  to  evacuate  the 
city,  and  whichever  way  that  was  done,  they  all  knew  that 
Butler  would  be  the  first  to  fly.  But  the  dreadful  epidemic 
did  not  come,  and  all  hopes  and  fears  of  such  a visitation  now 
began  to  subside. 

About  this  time  I learned  that  a large  part  of  the  town  of 
Baton  Rouge  had  been  burned  by  the  Federal  troops,  and  that 
all  the  business  premises  with  which  I had  been  connected,  and 
all  the  property  of  our  business  firm  had  been  destroyed.  The 
cause  assigned  for  this  was  a ‘‘  military  necessity.”  The 
Federal  commander,  fearing  another  attack  from  the  Con- 
federates, and  wishing  to  hold  the  place  on  account  of  the 
garrison  and  arsenal,  resolved  to  enfilade  the  rear  of  the  town 
by  the  fire  from  the  fleet. 

The  gunboats  were  accordingly  stationed  at  points  above 
and  below  the  town,  where  their  fire  would  converge  at  a point 
at  the  back  of  the  town.  This  point,  to  save  distance,  they 
made  as  near  to  the  river  as  possible,  thus  leaving  within  the 
lines  only  a part  of  the  city  in  the  form  of  a triangle. 

In  order  to  get  a clear  sweep  for  their  fire,  everything  out- 
side of  these  line  was  cleared  away.  Houses,  fences,  trees,  and 
every  other  object  that  would  obstruct  the  range  or  afibrd 
cover  to  an  enemy  was  burned  or  cleared  out  of  the  way  so 
that  the  fleet  could  efiectually  sweep  with  their  guns  every 
approach  to  the  town.  But  in  the  end  all  this  destruction  of 
property  was  of  no  avail  whatever,  for  a few  days  after  the 


416 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


burning  was  done  the  river  began  to  fall,  and  fell  so  low  that 
the  vessels  floated  at  too  low  a level  to  use  their  guns  to  any 
advantage. 

The  intelligence  of  the  burning  of  the  town  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  all  the  property  in  which  I had  any  interest,  and  which 
I knew  would  be  entirely  lost  to  me,  was  in  such  times  of 
revolution  and  violence  to  me  a matter  of  little  importance, 
but  I had  been  in  New  Orleans  now  nearly  a month  in  perfect 
idleness,  which,  after  a period  of  activity  and  excitement, 
became  to  me  exceedingly  irksome,  and  this  became  more  dis- 
tasteful when  I was  reminded  that  I was  here  virtually 
imprisoned  and  could  not  get  out  of  the  city,  and  as  I was  so 
completely  disgusted  with  the  state  of  things  in  the  city  I 
determined  to  get  out  of  it  by  some  means. 

In  the  meantime  the  Federal  troops  arrived  in  New  Orleans 
from  Baton  Bouge,  having  evacuated  the  latter  place.  They 
took  with  them  all  the  movable  property  which  they  could 
transport,  and  which  they  thought  could  be  used  in  any  way 
by  the  Confederates,  and  without  regard  to  what  or  who  the 
owners  might  be. 

Every  kind  of  steamer  or  boat  which  could  be  used  as  a 
transport  was  seized  and  loaded  up,  and  sent  down  the  river  to 
New  Orleans.  What  they  could  not  take  with  them  they 
burned  or  destroyed.  The  steam  ferry-boat,  a fine  large  boat 
which  would  carry  several  waggons  and  horses,  they  loaded  up 
with  plunder  to  take  with  them,  but  in  their  zeal  or  greed 
they  loaded  her  too  deep ; and,  as  if  imbued  like  the  inhabi- 
tants with  a refractory  rebel  spirit,  she  determined  not  to 
leave  the  place  for  she  grounded  on  the  bank,  and  the  sympa- 
thizing river  falling  fast,  all  their  efibrts  to  get  her  ofi*  proved 
unsuccessful.  They  therefore  set  fire  to  her,  and  she  was 
burned  with  all  her  cargo ; her  owner  meanwhile  standing  at 
a point  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  about  three  miles 
distant,  firing  at  them  with  his  revolver. 

I must,  however,  do  the  Federals  the  justice  to  say  that  they 
gave  out  at  least  that  they  did  not  carry  away  those  things 
with  a view  to  plunder  or  deprive  the  owners  of  them,  but 
rather  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  them  for  the  owners  by 
saving  them  from  being  plundered  or  destroyed  by  the  Con- 
federate guerillas,  and  there  was  no  doubt  a good  deal  of  reason 
in  this.  But  the  practice  of  seizing  private  property  to  pre- 
vent it  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  was  now  coming 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


417 


to  be  rather  common  on  both  sides,  and  was  painfully  unplea- 
sant to  those  who  possessed  any  substance  in  the  disturbed 
districts,  as  no  man  could  say  what  he  could  call  his  own. 

There  was  no  conveyance  to  Baton  Rouge  by  steamers,  even 
if  permission  could  be  obtained,  which  was  now  out  of  the 
question.  The  only  chance,  therefore,  was  to  “run  the  guards,’^ 
and  get  to  Baton  Rouge  by  land  if  I wished  to  get  there. 
With  a view  to  this,  I went  up  to  Carrolton,  which  is  a suburb 
of  New  Orleans,  and  was  at  the  extremity  of  the  military 
district.  While  there  reconnoitring  I met  with  two  former 
acquaintances  who  were  also  reconnoitring  with  a view  to 
running  the  guards  and  getting  out  of  the  city,  and  a place 
was  discovered  where  it  was  supposed  that  a passage  might  be 
effected ; and  by  a little  cautious  manoeuvring  we  succeeded 
in  getting  past  the  guard ; and,  after  having  got  a sufficient 
distance  from  the  lines,  we  obtained  horses  and  proceeded  to 
Baton  Rouge. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 


RETURN  TO  BATON  ROUGE— WRETCHED  CONDITION  OF  THE  PLACE— OUT  OF 
THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE — RETURN  TO  THE  ARMY — MILITARY 
CAREER  CUT  SHORT— BATTLE  OF  CORINTH— WOUNDED  AND  A PRISONER — 
PAROLE  AND  RETURN  TO  CIVIL  OCCUPATION— CONDUCT  OP  THE  NEGRO 
SLAVES  — LINCOLN’S  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION  — COMMENTS  AND 
CRITICISMS  UPON  ITS  OBJECT  AND  EXTENT. 

When  I got  to  Baton  Rouge,  I found  everything  in  a 
wretched  state.  The  greater  part  of  the  town  was  in  ruins, 
and  several  fine  buildings,  besides  those  burned  by  the  Pederals 
as  a ‘‘military  necessity,’’  had  been  burned — whether  by 
Federals  or  Confederates  I could  not  learn.  Xearly  all  the 
substantial,  former  residents  had  left  the  place.  Many  of 
them  having  been  driven  from  their  homes  were  living  in  log 
cabins  in  the  surrounding  country. 

Xo  business  of  any  kind  was  being  done,  and  hunger  and 
privation  reigned  supreme.  Our  business  premises  and  all 
property  in  which  I had  an  interest  had  been  destroyed.  My 
partner  had  removed  with  his  family  to  a log  house  somewhere 
far  out  in  the  country.  Most  of  the  houses  which  remained 
were  occupied  by  those  who  had  no  right  to  them.  Numbers 
of  Confederate  officers  of  the  home  guard  class,  with  airs  of 
great  importance,  lounged  about  with  their  followers  on  the 
hunt  for  conscripts,  and  enforcing  the  iron  rule  of  military 
despotism,  with  all  the  official  arrogance  they  could  assume. 

When  I looked  upon  this  state  of  things,  and  compared  it 
with  the  happy  and  prosperous  state  of  afiairs  two  years 
previous,  I could  not  help  reflecting  upon  the  shortness  of  the 
step,  from  a Democracy  to  a despotism ; and  the  condition 
into  which  men  possessing  what  they  proudly  termed  indi- 
vidual sovereign  powers  may  be  led,  or  allow  themselves  to  be 
led,  by  their  credulity  and  apathy. 

I now  found  that  by  leaving  New  Orleans  and  returning 
within  the  Confederate  lines,  I had  only  jumped  out  of  the 
frying  pan  into  the  fire,  as  far  as  despotic  rule  prevailed. 
There  was  only  the  one  consideration,  which  was,  that  I was 
now  on  the  side  I had  taken  part  with,  on  which  I had  some 
claim,  and  where  I was  better  known. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


419 


But  I found  my  position  exceedingly  awkward  and  un- 
pleasant. There  was  no  kind  of  occupation  in  civil  life  to 
which  I could  apply  myself — all  business  suspended ; and 
every  young  and  able  man  of  any  spirit  had  volunteered  into 
the  army,  and  those  who  had  hung  back  and  were  now  being 
hunted  after  by  the  conscript  officers,  were  not  looked  upon 
with  respect,  and  although  I was  now  exempt  I could  not 
brook  the  idea  of  lounging  about  idle,  and  I could  not  get 
out  of  the  country.  I could  also  plainly  see  that  under  a 
military  despotism,  such  as  the  whole  country  was,  the  best 
and  safest  place  to  be  was  in  the  army. 

In  joining  the  army  again  I knew  that  I was  violating 
neutrality,  and  forfeiting  my  rights  as  a British  subject,  but 
I could  see  no  alternative.  It  was  impossible  to  be  in  this 
part  of  the  country  without  being  mixed  up  in  the  turmoil, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  get  out  of  the  place. 

I had  learned  that  the  old  Army  of  the  West  was  not 
now  under  Bragg,  and  therefore  I determined  to  go  and  see 
some  of  the  field  officers  that  I knew,  and  through  their 
influence  I might,  on  account  of  my  former  services,  get  an 
appointment  in  the  Engineer  corps,  either  with  the  army  in 
the  fleld  or  at  some  of  the  fortifications  on  the  river,  and 
with  this  view  I set  off  to  pay  a visit  to  my  old  friends  in  the 
army  in  northern  Mississippi. 

When  I reached  the  camp  I found  that  the  army  had  moved 
from  the  camp  at  Tupelo,  and  had  advanced  northwards.  The 
large  army  which  I had  left  had  broken  up,  and  a large 
portion  of  it  had  proceeded  to  the  eastward  towards  Chat- 
tanooga, under  Bragg.  The  remnants  of  the  old  Army  of  the 
West,  patched  up  with  some  new  reinforcements,  was  still  under 
Price  and  Yan  Dorn,  and  they  were  preparing  to  make  an 
attack  upon  Corinth.  It  was  reported  that  a large  portion  of 
Grant’s  army  had  left  Corinth  and  gone  to  act  against  Bragg, 
and  Price  and  Yan  Dorn  were  supposed  to  be  able  to  deal 
with  the  remainder. 

The  brigade,  in  which  was  my  old  regiment,  was  away  in 
advance,  and  I learned  that  at  an  engagement  they  had 
with  the  enemy  at  luka,  they  had  suffered  severely.  My  old 
company  was  much  reduced;  my  old  friend,  the  first  lieutenant, 
had  been  killed.  The  captain  and  second  lieutenant,  wounded, 
were  both  absent  from  the  company,  and  very  few  of  the 
officers  of  the  regiment  that  I knew  were  left.  There  was  no 


420 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


time  at  present  for  me  to  see  any  of  the  field  officers,  as  a 
battle  was  just  going  to  begin,  and  there  was  no  other  way  for 
me  to  do  but  to  join  in. 

As  the  proportion  of  officers  of  all  ranks  and  classes  was 
very  large  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  men  for  duty,  it 
was  understood  that  all  officers  on  the  day  of  battle  would 
arm  themselves  with  rifles,  and  this  was  easily  done  as  there 
was  plenty  of  arms  belonging  to  the  wounded  men  not  in  use 
and  to  be  had. 

I was  joined  to  a detachment  that  was  bringing  up  the  rear 
and  was  a short  distance  in  the  rear  of  the  main  body. 

It  was  a fine,  clear,  cool  morning,  about  the  beginning  of 
October,  that  we  were  ordered  to  hurry  up  and  join  the  main 
body.  The  detachment  hurried  up  and  joined  the  division 
just  as  they  were  advancing  to  the  attack. 

I had  no  time  to  look  around  to  see  or  form  any  idea  of  the 
plan  of  the  battle.  We  dashed  forward  at  a double  quick.  The 
object  was,  I understood,  to  break  the  enemy’s  centre.  The 
enemy  opened  a heavy  fire  upon  us,  but  we  kept  pressing 
forward,  and  they  kept  falling  steadily  back.  A tremendous 
artillery  fire  had  opened  upon  our  right  and  left,  and  the 
battle  seemed  as  if  it  was  going  to  be  a severe  one.  We  had 
just  passed  over  an  embankment — whether  it  was  a railway 
embankment,  or  a work  thrown  up,  I did  not  observe,  as  at 
that  time  I was  struck  on  the  leg  by  a ball  which  caused  me 
to  fall. 

The  men  around  me  were  much  thinned,  and  a good  many 
of  both  sides  lay  on  the  ground.  I did  not  like  the  place  I 
lay  in,  as  it  was  rather  exposed,  and  I could  see  that  the 
enemy  were  not  making  the  same  mistake  that  they  had  made 
in  former  battles,  for  they  were  firing  low  enough  now,  and  I 
could  see  the  little  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  bullets  as  they 
struck  the  ground  thickly  all  around  me.  I tried  to  get  up 
and  walk  but  could  not,  so  I managed  to  crawl  to  a less 
exposed  place,  and  fortunately  I saw  a pit,  or  hole,  from  which 
stuff  had  been  dug  out  to  make  up  the  embankment.  Into 
this  place  I crawled,  where  I found  I was  comparatively  safe 
from  the  fire  of  either  small  arms  or  artillery.  Here  I tied 
my  handkerchief  tight  round  the  wound,  which  we  had  often 
been  instructed  to  do. 

I was  satisfied  that  my  wound,  although  painful,  was  not 
dangerous,  if  I could  get  timely  relief. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


421 


The  battle  was  now  going  on  furiously,  and  the  artillery  fire 
was  very  heavy,  though  round  about  the  place  where  I lay  it 
seemed  to  have  slackened.  The  smoke  had  cleared  away  and 
our  men  seemed  to  have  fallen  back  from  this  point.  How 
long  I lay  here  I cannot  tell,  but  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  a long 
time. 

At  length  the  firing  began  to  slacken,  and  I heard  cheering 
which  I knew  did  not  come  from  our  men,  and  it  was  evident 
that  they  had  fallen  back. 

It  was  not  until  night  that  I was  picked  up  and  carried  to 
the  railway  store-houses,  which  were  used  as  hospitals,  and 
reported  as  a wounded  reb.  There  I lay  waiting  my  turn  to 
get  my  wound  dressed,  which  was  done  in  the  course  of  time. 
Fortunately  it  was  not  serious.  It  had  been  a spent  ball 
which  had  first  struck  the  ground  and  then  glanced  upwards. 

I was  moved  into  a separate  place,  or  ward,  where  the  rest 
of  the  wounded  rebels,  or  rebs.,  as  they  called  us,  were  put. 

In  the  morning  I looked  around  the  room,  to  see  how  many 
there  might  be  in  it,  and  if  there  was  any  that  I knew.  There 
might  be  about  thirty  in  the  room,  and  I saw  one  that  I had 
seen  before,  and  had  a slight  acquaintance  with.  He  was  a 
captain  in  one  of  the  Texas  regiments.  He  had  been  wounded 
in  the  same  way  as  myself,  and  was  sitting  with  his  leg,  which 
had  been  newly  bandaged,  propped  up  on  a box.  He  was 
talking  to  one  or  two  who  were  lying  near  him,  and  who 
seemed  to  be  suffering  more.  He  was  venting  his  rage  at  a 
furious  rate  on  some  functionary.  I feared  it  might  be  some 
of  the  Federal  officers,  and  such  abuse  might  cause  bad  feeling 
and  subject  us  to  rough  treatment. 

“ What  is  the  matter,  captain  ^ ’’  said  I ; “ who  is  that  youVe 
pitching  into  ? ’’ 

“ Why,”  said  he,  “ that  rash,  reckless,  little  red-headed  rat. 
Van  Dorn.  He  makes  a mess  of  everything  he  attempts  by 
his  rashness.” 

I said  I knew  he  had  made  a bungle  of  things  at  Pea  Ridge, 
but  I thought  he  had  got  his  name  up  again  while  we  were 
fighting  here  in  May  last. 

“ Yes,”  said  he,  “ but  look  at  luka,  and  see  the  mess  he  has 
made  here  now.” 

I said  I had  not  been  at  luka,  and  for  this  battle  I did  not 
know  anything  about  it.  I had  just  got  up  as  the  battle  was 
going  to  begin,  and  was  shoved  into  the  column  that  was  going 


422 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


to  advance  on  the  enemy^s  centre — in  fact,  I had  left  the  army 
in  July,  and  was  only  back  on  a visit,  and  was  not  attached 
to  any  corps.  “ But,’’  continued  I,  “do  you  know  anything 
of  the  plan  of  this  battle  or  the  object  of  it.” 

“No,”  said  he,  “ nor  anyone  else and  he  was  beginning 
to  give  a description  of  the  movements  when  two  hospital 
attendants  came  in  under  pretence  of  sweeping  the  floor, 
although  it  was  no  doubt  to  listen  to  the  conversation.  We 
stopped  speaking,  and  the  two  fellows,  whom  I could  see  were 
of  the  shirker  class,  seemed  not  pleased  because  we  had  stopped 
the  conversation,  and  they  began  to  act  roughly  towards  the 
wounded,  ordering  them  to  move,  and  if  they  remonstrated 

they  swore  at  them,  calling  them  d d rebels.  The  Texas 

captain  remarked  that  whatever  rebels  might  be  they  would 
not  insult  helpless,  wounded  men.  I remarked  to  the  captain 
that  rebel  or  Confederate  soldiers  would  not,  neither  did  I 
believe  that  Federal  soldiers  would  insult  wounded  men. 
“ But,”  continued  I in  a loud  tone  in  their  hearing,  “ these  are 
not  soldiers ; these  are  cowardly  shirkers,  who  dare  not  go 
into  the  field,  but  lounge  about  the  hospitals.” 

Fortunately  at  the  time  some  Federal  officers  and  soldiers 
were  passing  the  door  going  out  from  the  next  ward  where  they 
had  been  visiting  some  of  their  wounded  men.  I called  to  them, 
and  they  looked  in. 

“ There,”  said  I,  addressing  the  Texas  captain,  “ are  men 
who  met  us  in  the  field  yesterday;  they  would  not  insult 
wounded  men.” 

“ What  is  the  matter  ? ” said  one  of  the  officers ; “ who 
insulted  you  ” 

“ These  two  fellows  there,”  said  I,  pointing  to  them. 

The  officers  ordered  them  out,  and  told  us  to  report  any  bad 
treatment  to  the  superintendent  of  the  hospital.  We  could 
not  complain  very  much  of  the  treatment  we  got  after  this. 
My  wound  quickly  healed,  and  in  a few  days  I was  able  to 
move  about  with  the  help  of  a crutch. 

In  moving  about,  I met  with  and  entered  into  conversation 
with  some  of  the  Federal  wounded.  Most  of  them  were  in 
hopes  that  they  would  be  sent  to  their  homes  in  a few  days. 
I found  among  them  one  or  two  Scotchmen,  with  whom  I 
formed  an  acquaintance  and  through  whom  I got  introduced 
to  a major,  who  was  also  a Scotchman.  He  was  very  kind, 
and  got  me  put  on  the  list  for  parole;  and  as  the  Federal 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


42a 


army,  which  here  was  under  command  of  General  Rosencranz, 
was  much  encumbered  with  sick  and  wounded,  I with  several 
others  was  called  up  to  sign  our  parole  and  were  allowed  to  go. 

Where  the  Confederate  army  had  gone  to  we  did  not  know, 
but  were  told  it  had  fallen  back  towards  Holly  Springs.  Of 
course  we  had  in  the  meantime  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  I 
did  not  intend  again  to  join,  as  I had  now  but  few  friends 
left  in  it,  and  as  I would  be  for  a time  crippled,  I could  with 
more  satisfaction  and  better  grace  remain  quiet  for  a time  to 
see  how  affairs  went. 

We  managed  to  get  an  ambulance  to  take  us  to  Priceville, 
where  we  got  on  to  the  railway  and  got  via  Meridian  as  before 
to  Camp  Moore. 

I must  here  remark  that  throughout  this  war  nothing  could 
exceed  the  deference  that  was  paid  to  wounded  men,  at  least 
on  the  part  of  the  Confederates.  We  had  no  difficulty  in 
getting  past  pickets.  We  travelled  on  railways  free  of  charge. 
Often  hotels  would  not  charge  for  a night^s  accommodation — 
country  people  were  ready  to  entertain  us,  and  gave  us 
carriages  and  horses  at  any  time  for  conveyance,  without  any 
charge,  and  I had  very  little  difficulty  in  getting  to  Baton 
Rouge.  I did  not,  however,  remain  at  that  place,  but  crossed 
the  river  and  went  to  the  county  of  West  Baton  Rouge,  where 
I knew  that  my  partner  and  some  of  my  former  friends  had 
gone  to  reside. 

My  wound  was  now  nearly  healed,  although  I continued  to 
walk  lame. 

West  Baton  Rouge  was  an  extensive  sugar- producing 
district,  and  it  was  now  November,  the  sugar  harvest  time, 
and  a large  crop  of  sugar  cane  was  ripe  and  ready  to  be  cut 
down  and  manufactured ; and  it  was  stated  to  have  been  the 
desire  of  both  parties  that  this  valuable  crop  should  not  be 
lost,  and  that  the  manufacture  of  sugar  should  not  be  molested 
by  either  party. 

Some  landslips  had  also  taken  place  on  the  river  bank  which 
had  broken  the  embankments,  and  the  country  was  in  danger 
of  being  overflowed  when  the  river  rose,  unless  some  scheme 
was  devised  to  keep  it  back  by  new  embankments. 

I now  met  with  some  of  my  old  planter  friends,  among 
whom  was  my  old  friend  Mr.  C.  They  told  me  that  I might  be 
satisfied  with  fighting  now,  that  I had  surely  got  enough  of  it, 
and  I would  be  of  more  service  if  I would  come  and  give  them  the 


424 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


benefit  of  my  engineering  skill  in  protecting  their  lands  from 
overfiow,  and  getting  their  machinery  ready  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  sugar.  There  were  very  few  engineers  of  any  kind 
now  to  be  had,  most  of  them  having  either  joined  the  service 
or  left  the  country. 

I told  them  that  I thought  that  was  rather  cool  for  their 
patriotism,  but  they  maintained  that  self-preservation  was  the 
first  law  of  nature,  and  I was  not  very  hard  to  persuade. 

I may  here  observe  that  this  district,  as  well  as  all  the  land 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  was  a sugar-producing  district, 
and  consisted  almost  entirely  of  sugar  plantations  and  large 
sugar  factories.  Throughout  this  district,  the  slave  population 
at  all  times  greatly  exceeded  the  white  population ; and,  after 
the  war  had  broken  out,  and  a large  portion  of  the  white 
population  had  volunteered  for  or  had  been  conscripted  into 
the  military  service,  the  predominance  of  the  slave  population 
was  greatly  increased. 

To  the  everlasting  credit  of  the  negroes — not  only  in  this 
district  but  all  over  the  South,  while  the  whole  country  was 
distracted  by  war — they  never  made  the  slightest  show  of 
insurrection ; and  never,  except  in  the  case  of  the  two  plan- 
tations on  the  Mississippi,  in  July,  1862,  which  I have  already 
referred  to,  did  I know  of  even  the  slightest  disafiection,  and 
this  I noticed  particularly,  during  this  winter  of  1862-63,  in 
which  I had  occasion  to  go  much  among  them,  and  I never 
saw  them  more  orderly  or  better  behaved. 

Mr.  Lincoln  has  been  spoken  of  by  many  in  Europe  and 
elsewhere,  as  the  great  emancipator — whose  generous  act  in 
emancipating  the  slaves  in  America  had  earned  for  him  a 
world-wide  fame.  But  I have  sometimes  thought  that,  if  some 
of  those  who  thus  lauded  him  had  known  a little  more  of  the 
solid  truth,  they  might  have  approached  the  subject  with  a 
little  more  caution. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  certainly  opposed  to  slavery  through 
philanthropic  motives,  and  his  philanthropy  was  of  the 
sincere  and  genuine  kind;  but  the  measures  adopted  in  his 
name  on  which  this  fame  has  been  based  might,  if  looked 
into,  appear  just  somewhat  questionable  from  a philanthropic 
point  of  view. 

The  Act  amending  the  constitution  of  the  United  States — 
reconstructing  the  Union  and  abolishing  slavery — was  not 
passed  until  December,  1865 — eight  months  after  Mr.  Lincoln’s 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


425 


death,  but  this  dogma  of  Mr.  Lincoln  emancipating  the  slaves, 
arose  from  a proclamation  issued  by  him  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1863. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  detract  from  Mr.  Lincoln  any  credit 
due  to  his  name.  I believe  him  to  have  been  a well-meaning 
man,  who  wished  to  do  right  to  all  men,  an  honest,  true, 
and  genuine  philanthropist,  who  disapproved  of  slavery,  and 
was  willing  to  adopt  any  honourable  and  judicious  means  to 
have  it  gradually  abolished,  with  due  regard  to  the  rights  of 
those  who,  by  fate  or  fortune,  were  interested  in  it,  or 
dependent  upon  it.  And  I think  I cannot  do  a greater 
honour  to  his  memory,  than  to  give  it  as  my  opinion,  that  this 
proclamation,  like  others  issued  in  his  name,  never  emanated 
from  him  with  his  cordial  approval,  and  with  his  full  know- 
ledge of  its  meaning  or  object. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Lincoln’s  own  personal  views  at  that 
time,  I remember  reading  in  the  papers  a proposal  or  suggestion 
he  put  forth  in  an  address  about  the  autumn  of  1862.  It  was 
in  the  form  of  a grand  scheme  for  the  emancipation  and 
colonisation  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  United  States  by  a legal 
purchase  out  of  a fund  to  be  raised  according  to  the  increase  in 
the  population.  I cannot  remember  the  substance  of  it,  but 
the  proposal  did  not  seem  to  have  been  favourably  received  by 
his  cabinet  and  followers,  for  it  did  not  take  root,  and  I never 
heard  more  of  it. 

About  this  time  the  fortune  of  the  war  had  again  gone  with 
the  Confederate  arms  and  against  the  Federal  forces.  The 
latter  had  suffered  some  crushing  reverses  in  Virginia,  and 
particularly  at  Fredericksburg  in  December,  and  also  in  the 
west  by  the  defeat  of  Sherman  in  his  advance  against  Vicks- 
burg ; and  the  fearful  wound  which  had  penetrated  the  heart 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  cut  it  asunder  by  the  Federals  obtain- 
ing command  of  the  Mississippi  river,  had  been  partially 
stopped  up  by  strong  forts  erected  at  Port  Hudson,  a place 
about  18  miles  above  Baton  Rouge,  by  which  the  Federal  fleet 
was  stopped  from  proceeding  up  the  river,  and  by  strong  forts 
at  Vicksburg,  about  300  miles  above  Port  Hudson,  which 
prevented  their  gunboats  passing  down.  This  not  only  checked 
communication  between  the  upper  and  lower  fleets,  but  left 
nearly  300  miles  of  the  river  in  possession  of  the  Confederates. 
Into  this  flowed  Red  River,  which  allowed  them  free  com- 
munication with  Western  Louisiana,  Texas,  and  other  parts 


426 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  The  triumph  of  the  Federal 
arms  and  the  subduing  of  the  Confederate  States  seemed  thus 
as  remote  as  ever. 

On  1st  January,  1863,  the  famous  proclamation  was  issued. 
On  this  proclamation  I will  not  presume  to  pass  judgment, 
but  as  I happened  at  the  time  to  be  in  a locality  where  its 
effects  would  or  might  have  been  productive  of  serious  conse- 
quences, and  its  construction  was  very  seriously  criticised  and 
commented  upon,  I will  simply  state,  as  near  as  I can,  the 
substance  of  it,  and  the  different  views  expressed  in  regard  to 
its  meaning  and  object. 

The  substance  of  the  proclamation,  after  the  preamble 
referring  to  the  rebellion  and  the  state  of  the  country,  was,  as 
near  as  I can  recollect,  in  these  words  : — 

‘‘I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  by 
virtue  of  the  authority  in  me  invested,  do  hereby  issue  this 
my  proclamation,  and  do  hereby  proclaim  all  slaves  within 
the  States  or  parts  of  States  now  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States  to  be  now,  and  for  ever,  free,  and  all  officers 
employed  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States  are  hereby 
ordered  to  assist  them  in  every  way  in  their  endeavours  to 
obtain  their  freedom.” 

It  was  further  stated,  by  way  of  interpretation,  though  I do 
not  remember  the  exact  words,  that  the  slaves  were  declared 
free  in  all  States  in  rebellion,  except  such  parts  as  were  held 
by  the  armies  of  the  United  States. 

This  exception  would  amount  to  nearly  half  of  the  slave- 
holding territory. 

At  that  time,  the  feeling  of  deadly  hate  between  the  political 
magnates  and  extreme  fanatics  on  both  sides  had  become  most 
intense,  and  there  is  no  saying  to  what  length  their  bitter 
animosities  would  have  carried  them.  But  their  power  was 
curbed,  and  many  outrages  and  cruelties  prevented  by  the 
more  noble  and  generous  sentiments  of  the  military  commanders 
in  the  field  on  both  sides. 

This  proclamation  was  said  to  have  been  issued  by  the 
authority  of  Congress  as  a ‘‘  military  necessity,”  and  I use  the 
words  of  a Federal  officer  who  stated  to  me  that  it  would  have 
been  more  correct  to  say,  ‘‘  By  command  of  Congress  and  the 
Cabinet,”  and  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  when  he  assented  to  it,  had 
failed  to  observe  the  different  ways  in  which  it  might  be 
construed. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


427 


The  fact  of  it  being  called  forth  as  a “ military  necessity,” 
and  the  significant  and  positive  orders  to  all  officers  in  the 
army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  to  assist  the  slaves  in 
every  way  in  their  endeavours  to  obtain  their  freedom,  called 
forth  many  severe  criticisms  from  both  sides.  It  did  not 
express  in  any  way  in  what  manner  this  assistance  was  to  be 
rendered.  It  did  not  say  that  such  assistance  should  be  in 
accordance  with  civilised  customs,  or  conform  to  the  laws  and 
usages  of  war. 

Various  constructions  were  put  upon  the  meaning  of  this 
order — the  most  extreme  being  that  it  was  to  stir  up  the 
negroes  to  follow  the  example  of  the  slaves  in  St.  Domingo,  and 
incite  them  to  wreak  an  indiscriminate  slaughter  upon  their 
masters  and  the  white  population  in  general  within  the  rebel- 
lious States,  and  that  in  this  they  would  be  aided  by  the 
United  States  forces. 

The  milder  construction  put  upon  it  was,  that  the  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy  should  afibrd  every  facility  they  could  in 
aiding  the  slaves  to  escape  from  their  masters,  and  in  rescuing 
them  from  any  parties  who  might  endeavour  to  recapture 
them. 

This  latter  was  probably  the  light  in  which  it  was  issued  by 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  the  meaning  that  was  represented  to  him  by 
those  who  prepared  the  proclamation  and  got  him  to  assent  to 
it,  and  he  probably  adhibited  his  signature  without  looking 
further  into  it,  or  observing  the  difierent  ways  in  which  it 
might  be  construed. 

However,  that  might  be,  the  proclamation  caused  great 
excitement  and  indignation,  not  only  among  the  Confederates 
who  regarded  it  in  the  extreme  light,  and  on  whom  it  acted 
like  a second  dose  of  Butler;  but  also  among  many  of  the 
Northern  Democrats,  and  it  also  caused  some  disafiection  in 
the  army  and  navy,  and  several  officers  resigned  their  com- 
missions. By  many,  the  milder  construction  was  scouted  as 
being  absurd,  as  such  an  order  would  be  quite  superfluous ; as 
an  act  had  already  been  passed  in  the  Federal  Congress 
declaring  that  all  slaves  that  should  escape  from  their  masters 
and  take  refuge  within  the  Federal  lines  should  be  free ; and 
an  order  had  been  issued  to  all  officers  in  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States,  to  afford  them  every  assistance  and 
protection.  This  act  was  passed  about  three  months  before 
the  proclamation  was  issued.  Another  singular  feature  in  this 


428 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


proclamation  was,  that  it  restricted  the  abolition  of  slavery  to 
such  parts  of  the  United  States  only  where  Mr.  Lincoln’s 
power  did  not  extend,  and  where  his  armies  had  failed  to 
penetrate,  and  where  he  had  not  the  power  to  enforce  it ; and 
in  all  parts  where  his  power  did  exist,  and  where  his  armies 
had  penetrated  and  subdued,  slavery  was  still  to  be  maintained. 

It  was,  therefore,  in  that  respect  regarded  at  best  as  a mere 
formal  or  paper  proclamation  of  emancipation,  where  he  knew 
he  had  not  the  power  to  carry  it  into  effect,  and  no  one  could 
or  pretended  to  maintain  that  it  was  done  as  an  act  of 
philanthropy. 

To  return  to  the  effect  and  working  of  the  proclamation, 
allowing  it  to  be  recognised,  acted  upon,  and  in  force. 

The  parts  in  which  slavery  should  exist  and  the  parts  in 
which  it  should  not  exist  were  so  mixed  up  and  interwoven, 
constantly  varying  and  uncertain,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
determine  which  was  which,  even  taking  it  at  the  date  of 
proclamation. 

Slavery  would  have  still  continued  either  in  entire  States  or 
parts  of  States  all  over  the  South. 

It  would  still  continue  in  Delaware,  Maryland,  Western 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  East  Tennessee,  Missouri,  large  portions 
of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  besides  the  many  seaports  held  by 
the  Federal  forces,  including  Galveston,  in  Texas,  which  latter 
place  at  the  date  of  the  proclamation  was  held  by  the  Federal 
forces,  and,  consequently,  slavery  would  there  be  maintained 
and  continued,  but  before  the  proclamation  could  reach  that 
place  it  had  been  recaptured  by  the  Confederate  forces. 

Whether  the  Confederates,  when  they  captured  this  place 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  might  have  regarded  it  as  a place 
in  which  slavery  had  been  confirmed  by  Lincoln’s  proclamation 
and  retained  the  slaves  as  slaves,  or  whether,  by  the  capture 
of  the  place  by  the  Confederates,  the  slaves  became  entitled  to 
their  freedom  was  a question  which,  like  other  things  in  the 
proclamation,  was  a little  confounding. 

To  come  more  direct  to  the  question.  The  part  of  Louisiana 
in  which  I happened  to  be  at  that  time  was  somewhat 
uncertain.  It  was  claimed  by  both  sides,  but  protected  by 
neither. 

It  consisted  of  the  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  river  between 
Kew  Orleans  and  Baton  Rouge,  and  on  the  west  side  for  some 
miles  above  the  latter  place. 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


429 


The  Federals  had  held  it  from  the  time  they  captured  New 
Orleans  in  April,  1862,  until  August,  when  they  evacuated 
Baton  Rouge  and  fell  back  to  New  Orleans.  The  Confederates 
had  not  since  occupied  it  by  any  force,  but  some  bands  of 
miserable  guerillas,  pretending  to  be  in  the  Confederate 
service,  prowled  around,  while  an  ironclad  Federal  gunboat 
named  the  Essex  lay  in  the  river  opposite  Baton  Rouge, 
occasionally  taking  a cruise  up  the  river  to  within  safe  distance 
of  Port  Hudson,  but  when  the  river  was  low,  the  low  country 
behind  the  embankments  could  not  be  seen  or  commanded 
from  the  vessel. 

Sometimes  the  guerillas  would  become  possessed  of  extra- 
ordinary courage,  and  they  would  hide  themselves  safely 
behind  the  embankments  and  fire  at  the  ironclacl  gunboat  as 
she  passed  at  the  distance  of  half-a-mile  or  more.  The  gunboat 
would  retaliate  by  firing  heavy  shot  and  shell  over  the  embank- 
ments and  up  into  the  country,  indiscriminately  destroying 
houses  and  property  and  endangering  the  lives  of  and  terrifying 
the  inhabitants,  who  were  between  the  “ devil  and  the  deep 
sea.”  The  people  were  made  unionists  by  the  acts  of  the  con- 
scripting officers  and  the  guerillas,  and  fled  for  refuge  to  New 
Orleans,  where  they  were  made  secessionists  again  by  Butler 
and  his  acts. 

When  this  proclamation  was  issued,  it  was  of  course  treated 
with  scorn  and  contempt  within  the  Confederate  lines  proper, 
but  in  parts  such  as  this,  which  were  being  taken  and  retaken, 
or  claimed  by  both  sides,  if  it  had  been  acknowledged  and 
respected,  its  application  would  have  been  a question  of  some 
difficulty,  for  in  this  district,  as  I have  said,  the  slave  popula- 
tion greatly  exceeded  the  white  population. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  Southern  slaveowners  would 
have  tried  to  keep  the  proclamation  from  becoming  known  to 
their  slaves,  but  they  did  the  very  opposite.  They  produced 
the  proclamation  and  read  it  to  their  slaves.  I was  present  on 
one  or  two  occasions  when  this  was  done. 

One,  a Mr.  L,  of  West  Baton  Rouge,  called  all  his  slaves  up 
and  asked  me,  in  their  presence,  as  a foreigner,  a neutral  and 
disinterested  party,  to  read  the  proclamation,  which  I did. 

He  explained  to  them  the  construction  he  put  upon  it, 
putting  it  in  the  extreme  sense,  and  asked  them  if  they  had 
any  desire  to  rebel,  in  order  to  obtain  their  freedom ; for  if 
they  had,  they  need  not  endanger  their  own  lives  or  stain 


430 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


their  hands  with  bloodshed,  for  they  were  now  at  liberty  to  go 
if  they  pleased. 

The  negroes  very  emphatically,  and  I believed  sincerely, 
repudiated  any  desire  for  any  change,  and  begged  of  him  to 
retain  them  under  his  protection  as  formerly,  and  they  would 
be  as  faithful  to  him  as  ever. 

Of  course,  I thought  at  the  time  that  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  they  were  likely  to  make  any  other  reply, 
whatever  might  be  their  inward  thoughts.  But  afterwards*^! 
began  to  joke  with  some  of  the  more  intelligent  and  leading 
men  among  them,  and  asked  them  why  they  did  not  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  which  was  offered  to  them  to 
obtain  their  freedom  so  easily. 

The  reply  was  : — 

“ Master,  I see  no  use  of  us  going  and  getting  ourselves 
into  trouble.  If  so  be  we  are  to  get  free,  we  get  it  anyhow. 
If  we  not  to  get  it,  we  no  get  it;  and  we  think  it  more  betterer 
to  stay  home  on  the  plantation,  and  get  our  food  and  our 
clothes  ; and  if  we  are  to  get  freedom,  dare  we  are  ! But,  if 
we  run  away,  and  go  to  New  Orleans,  like  dem  crazy  niggers, 
where  is  we  ? ” 

It  may  be  here  observed  a good  number  of  the  slaves,  from 
both  towns  and  plantations  had  left  their  masters,  and  gone  to 
New  Orleans  with  the  Federals — many  of  them  not  having 
run  away,  but  gone  with  the  full  consent  of  their  masters  ; 
and  after  being  in  New  Orleans  for  some  time  they,  with  much 
difficulty,  found  their  way  back  to  their  masters,  in  a state  of 
great  wretchedness  and  destitution. 

Another  planter,  a Mr.  B.,  read  the  proclamation  to  his 
slaves,  in  my  hearing ; but  he  put  it  before  them  in  rather  a 
different  way. 

He  pointed  out  to  them  that  part  of  the  proclamation  which 
set  forth  that  it  was  only  in  such  parts  of  the  States  as  were 
in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  that  were  to  be  free; 
and  in  all  other  parts,  held  by  the  Federal  forces,  they  were 
still  to  be  slaves. 

“ This  place,”  said  he,  “ is  uncertain.  Both  parties  claim  it, 
and  we  don’t  know  which  Government  it  is  under.  If  it  is 
under  Lincoln’s  Government,  then  he  says  in  that  proclama- 
tion that  you  are  to  be  slaves ; but  if  it  is  under  Jefferson 
Davis’s  Government,  then  he  (Lincoln)  says  in  that  proclama- 
tion that  you  are  to  be  free.  So  I can’t  tell  you  what  you  are 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


431 


to  be  until  we  see  which  government  we  are  going  to  be  under. 
But  there  is  one  thing  that  I can  tell  you,  that  is,  if  you  are 
within  Jefferson  Davis’s  country  Mr.  Lincoln  says  you  are  to 
be  free,  though  I doubt  it  very  much,  because  he  has  not  the 
power  there  to  make  you  free.  But  if  you  are  in  New  Orleans 
or  any  place  within  the  lines  held  by  Mr.  Lincoln’s  armies, 
then  Mr.  Lincoln  says  you  are  to  be  slaves,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  about  that,  because  he  has  there  the  power  to 
make  and  keep  you  slaves.  So  there  is  the  proclamation,  and 
you  can  read  it  for  yourselves,  or  get  any  person  you  like  to 
read  it  for  you,  and  see  if  they  can  make  anything  else  out  of 
it,”  and  he  handed  them  the  proclamation. 

Of  course  this  was  only  an  ingenious  way  of  showing  up  the 
proclamation  and  turning  it  into  ridicule,  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  was  a little  open  to  ridicule. 

In  January,  1863,  the  Mississippi  River  began  to  rise  a little, 
so  that  the  Federal  gunboats  could  command  the  country  on 
both  sides,  and  Baton  Rouge  was  again  occupied  by  the  Federal 
troops  and  the  country  was  now  under  Lincoln’s  rule.  This 
settled  the  question  as  to  whether  the  negroes  were  to  be  free 
or  slaves  in  the  districts ; not,  as  one  would  almost  fly  to  the 
conclusion,  that  they  were  to  be  free,  but  on  the  contrary, 
strange  as  it  may  appear,  that  they  were  to  be  slaves,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  proclamation,  as  that  part  of  the  country  could 
not  be  said  to  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  and 
had  been  occupied  for  some  months  by  the  Federal  forces,  and 
had  never  been  actually  abandoned  by  them  and  re-occupied 
by  the  Confederate  forces. 

Of  course  this  allusion  to  the  proclamation  is  only  to  show 
the  absurdity  of  it ; for  it  was  never  regarded  or  acted  upon 
either  by  the  slaveowners,  or  the  slaves,  or  the  United  States 
officers,  and  only  in  one  instance  did  I ever  hear  of  any 
attempt  being  made  to  carry  out  the  order  even  in  its  mildest 
form. 

In  this  case  the  United  States  officers  fell  into  a trap  not 
very  honourably  laid,  and  not  laid  by  any  respectable 
Confederate  authority,  but  by  the  guerillas  and  negroes. 

The  officers  of  the  gunboat  Essex,  which  was  in  the  habit  of 
going  up  and  down  the  river,  at  a point  some  14  miles  above 
Baton  Rouge  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  on  what  was  con- 
sidered Confederate  territory,  saw  a party  of  negroes  on  the 
river  bank,  apparently  fugitive  slaves,  waving  to  them  for 


432 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


assistance.  The  commander,  in  compliance  with  the  order  set 
forth  in  the  proclamation,  immediately  stopped  and  sent  a 
boat  ashore  to  take  them  off  to  his  vessel ; but  no  sooner  had 
the  boat  touched  the  bank,  than  the  negroes  ran  and  hid 
behind  the  embankment,  and  a party  of  guerillas  from  behind 
the  embankment  opened  fire  upon  the  boat’s  crew.  But,  as 
usual  with  these  miscreants,  they  did  not  succeed  in  doing 
much  damage. 

This,  however,  put  a stop  to  any  further  attempts  to  render 
assistance  to  fugitives  in  that  district. 

The  proclamation,  after  the  first  little  excitement  and 
indignation  had  passed  away,  became  a dead  letter ; and, 
though  not  formally  withdrawn,  was  smothered  over,  and 
little  referred  to  within  the  Federal  lines — the  Federal 
officers  seeming  to  feel  ashamed  of  it ; while  within  the  Con- 
federate lines,  and  by  those  opposed  to  Mr.  Lincoln  in  other 
places,  it  was  brought  up  as  a reproach  against  and  a stain 
upon  his  name. 

Such  was  the  proclamation  to  which  some  would  attach  such 
great  magnanimity,  and  which  I would  rather  not  have 
referred  to,  but  I think  there  has  been  altogether  too  much 
said  about  this  so-called  generous  act  of  emancipating  the 
slaves.  While  situated,  as  I was  at  the  time  it  was  issued,  I 
could  not  help  hearing  the  comments  and  severe  criticisms 
upon  it,  witnessing  the  feeling  it  created,  and  being  satisfied 
of  its  inconsistency,  inapplicability,  and  complete  futility,  to 
say  nothing  more. 

But  I only  put  forth  the  comments  and  criticisms  as  I heard 
them,  and  its  operation  and  effects,  only  so  far  as  I witnessed 
them.  Of  course  there  may  have  been  something  in  it  far 
beyond  the  comprehension  of  my  ideas. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


RE-OCCUPATION  OF  BATON  ROUGE  BY  THE  FEDERAL  TROOPS— THAT  DISTRICT 
AGAIN  IN  COMMUNICATION  WITH  NEW  ORLEANS  — PRODUCE  SENT  TO 
MARKET— SEIZURES  AND  CONFISCATIONS — DEPARTURE  OF  BUTLER  FROM 
NEW  ORLEANS — A REVIEW  OF  SOME  OF  HIS  ACTS  IN  THAT  CITY — HIS 
FOLLOWERS  DON’T  FOLLOW  HIM— GENERAL  BANKS  TAKES  COMMAND  — 
VIEW  OF  A NIGHT  ATTACK  ON  PORT  HUDSON  BY  THE  FLEET — OVERFLOW 
OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER— RETURN  TO  NEW  ORLEANS. 

Through  the  occupation  of  Baton  Rouge  by  the  Federal 
troops,  the  whole  of  that  country  to  which  I refer  was  brought 
within  the  Federal  lines,  and  the  communication  between  these 
parts  and  New  Orleans  was  now  less  restricted,  and  I again 
could  come  and  go  to  and  from  the  city,  still  passing  as  a 
foreigner  and  a neutral,  and  occasionally  transacting  business 
for  planters  who  did  not  deem  it  quite  safe  to  venture  into  the 
lion’s  mouth. 

Many  of  the  planters  and  small  farmers  now  tried  to  get 
their  produce  to  market  and  have  it  turned  into  money,  as  it 
was  by  no  means  safe  on  the  farms  or  plantations.  It  was 
subject  either  to  be  burned  by  the  guerillas,  or  seized  by 
Butler’s  speculators,  and  a good  deal  of  cotton  and  sugar  found 
its  way  to  New  Orleans,  though  often  under  extreme  difficul- 
ties, and  even  when  it  got  there  it  was  still  very  far  from  being 
safe.  The  seizure  of  cotton  when  landed  in  the  city  was  the 
invariable  rule.  The  article  commanded  such  a high  price  that 
Butler’s  officials  always  contrived  to  show  that  some  breach  of 
regulation  had  been  committed,  and  that  the  goods  were  liable 
to  seizure  and  confiscation.  These  seizures  were  made  with  so 
little  regard  to  law  or  justice  that  the  artifice  of  having  the 
produce  transferred  through  the  agency  of  a foreign  subject  was 
often  resorted  to.  This  might  save  it  from  total  confiscation ; 
still  it  was  subjected  to  numerous  stoppages  and  detentions, 
which  could  only  be  got  over  by  the  payment  of  heavy  bribes. 

Early  in  1863  a change  took  place  in  the  command  at  New 
Orleans.  Butler  left,  and  his  place  was  taken  by  General 
Banks.  I am  not  certain  whether  Butler  was  superseded,  or 
whether  he  retired  of  his  own  accord,  after  having  filled  his 

2 E 


434 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


coffers.  His  departure  was  certainly  hailed  with  universal  joy 
by  the  inhabitants,  and  his  administration  there  should  at 
least  occupy  a prominent  place  in  the  history  of  that  city. 

It  was  supposed  by  many  that  his  selection  and  appointment 
as  the  absolute  ruler  of  Hew  Orleans  was  an  act  of  retribution 
most  deliberately  planned,  and  that  to  punish  a proud  and 
arrogant  people  was  the  object  for  which  he  was  sent  there. 
Whether  that  was  the  case  or  not  I cannot  say ; but  if  such 
was  really  the  object  there  certainly  could  not  have  been  a 
better  selection  made.  “ Set  a thief  to  catch  a thief, is  an 
old  adage,  and  so  it  may  be  said  ‘‘  Employ  the  devil  to  punish 
the  devil.’’ 

Butler  could  never  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  Federal 
generals,  from  a military  point  of  view.  He  ventured  but 
rarely  to  act  in  the  field,  and  when  he  did  he  showed  such 
incapacity  and  cowardice  that  he  stood  virtually  disgraced. 
All  this  was  counterbalanced  by  his  high  proficiency  in  a war 
of  words,  and  few  dared  to  bring  against  him  a ‘‘railing 
accusation.” 

He  was  not  embarrassed  by  any  sensitive  feelings.  He  had 
no  shame  and  made  no  secret  of  his  cowardice ; and  however 
incongruous  this  might  be  with  the  title  he  had  assumed  as  a 
military  general,  still,  he  possessed  a great  amount  of  courage 
ef  a certain  kind,  but  whether  it  might  be  called  true  moral 
courage  may  be  another  question.  He  seemed  to  say,  “ I am 
not  such  a fool  as  to  expose  my  person  to  danger.  I can 
manage  my  point  better  without  doing  so,  and  if  I am  attacked 
by  the  world’s  censures,  I am  quite  impervious  to  any  wounds 
from  such  weapons;  whilst  I am  an  adept  in  the  use  of  them.” 

If  he  had  no  skill  or  strategy  in  military  matters  he  certainly 
possessed  both,  to  a high  degree,  in  political  and  criminal  mat- 
ters ; and  if  he  could  not  organise  or  command  an  army  of 
soldiers,  few  could  equal  him  in  organising  an  army  of  spies 
And  detectives. 

The  knowledge  he  acquired  of  every  man  in  Hew  Orleans, 
of  his  business,  his  means  at  command,  his  property  in  real 
estate,  in  money,  in  merchandise,  house  furniture,  plate,  or 
other  valuables ; his  sentiments,  circle  of  acquaintances,  and 
everyday  actions  were  truly  incredible. 

He  of  course  had  absolute  power,  which  he  did  not  fail  to 
Avail  himself  of,  and  he  made  many  harsh  experiments. 

It  was  not  Butler’s  maxim  that  “ better  ten  guilty  should 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


435 


escape  than  one  innocent  be  punished,”  but  better  that  ten 
innocent  should  be  punished  than  one  guilty  should  escape. 

There  were,  no  doubt,  many  acts  and  outrages  committed  by 
Butler  in  New  Orleans  which  never  went  into  print  or  saw  the 
light,  and  perhaps,  many  things  were  said  of  him  which  were 
grossly  exaggerated,  or  never  happened  at  all ; and  many  of 
his  orders,  bad  as  they  were,  were  made  more  grievous  by  the 
way  in  which  they  were  carried  out  through  his  minions. 

I may  mention  one  or  two  things  which  came  especially 
under  my  notice. 

Butler  had  a great  terror  of  being  assassinated  while  in  New 
Orleans.  He  seldom  showed  himself  in  public,  he  travelled  to 
and  from  his  residence  in  a close  carriage,  surrounded  by 
guards;  and,  as  a further  security  to  his  person,  he  issued  an 
order  disarming  the  citizens,  and  commanding  all  arms  of 
whatever  kind  to  be  delivered  up  before  a certain  day,  and 
if  any  arms  or  weapons  were  found  in  possession  of  any 
person  whatever,  or  on  or  within  the  premises  of  any  person, 
after  that  date,  without  a special  permission,  such  person 
should  be  subject  to  a heavy  penalty  and  imprisonment. 

There  were  perhaps  none  of  his  orders  that  were  enforced 
with  such  rigour  as  this,  and  some  of  the  instances  attending 
them  were  notable.  As  an  instance  of  several  I knew  of,  one 
in  particular  I may  mention,  as  showing  the  injustice  which 
may  be  done  in  carrying  out  an  arbitrary  order  through  means 
of  a depraved  and  unprincipled  agency — always,  of  course,  in 
the  name  of  and  for  the  good  of  the  people,  as  all  these  orders 
were  declared  to  be. 

A Mr.  XJ.,  a gentleman  of  good  standing  and  reputation, 
who  was  a Scotchman  by  birth,  but  who  had  been  for  a great 
many  years  a citizen  of  New  Orleans,  and  greatly  respected, 
had  taken  no  part  in  the  Secession  movement,  but  when 
the  troubles  broke  out  ‘ had  given  up  business  and  lived  in 
retirement. 

A short  time  after  this  order  was  in  force  his  house  was 
entered  by  a party  of  Butler’s  detectives,  and  he  was  charged 
with  having  arms  concealed,  in  violation  of  the  order.  Mr.  U., 
knowing  the  charge  to  be  groundless,  told  them  to  search  the 
premises.  They  went  immediately  into  his  back  court,  turned 
over  some  lumber  and  took  out  an  old  fowling-piece,  which  it 
was  easy  to  see  had  been  recently  put  there.  This  was  suffi- 
cient, and  Mr.  U.  was  dragged  off  to  prison.  It  was  in  vain 


436 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


that  he  protested  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  article  being 
there,  and  that  it  had  been  put  there  without  his  knowledge. 

Mr.  U.  was  kept  in  jail  until  he  had  paid  a very  large  sum 
of  money  by  way  of  ransom. 

The  information  had  been  given  by  his  negro  servant  who, 
probably,  instigated  by  others,  had  put  the  article  there,  and 
then  laid  the  information  in  order  to  get  the  reward  of  his 
treachery.  Of  such  cases  there  were  innumerable  instances. 

Some  of  Butler’s  acts  however  showed  a considerable  amount 
of  astuteness  and  tact,  and  were  less  to  be  condemned. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  a good  many  of  the 
wealthy  merchants  of  New  Orleans,  in  order  to  show  their 
patriotism  and  zeal  in  the  cause,  subscribed  large  sums  of 
money  to  aid  in  fitting  out  the  armies  and  otherwise  promoting 
the  movement.  Extensive  lists  had  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers with  the  names  of  those  gentlemen,  and  opposite  to 
them  the  sums  contributed  by  each,  varying  from  100  dollars 
to  10,000  dollars.  Butler,  having  secured  one  of  those  docu- 
ments, and  having  spotted  the  subscribers,  first  carefully  and 
fully  ascertained  the  extent  of  their  means.  Then  he  issued 
an  order  in  which  he  most  courteously  complimented  these 
gentlemen  on  their  liberality,  and  represented  to  them  the 
state  of  misery  and  privation  which  had  been  brought  about 
by  the  war,  and  the  thousands  of  unemployed  starving  people 
that  were  now  in  the  city,  and  other  requirements  in  the  city 
which  must  be  attended  to.  He  then  made  out  another  list  of 
these  gentlemen’s  names,  and  opposite  each  name  he  appended 
a sum  which  he  called  upon  them  to  immediately  pay.  These 
sums  varied  a little,  according  to  the  extent  of  means  which  he 
knew  the  parties  to  be  possessed  of,  but  they  were  generally  in 
proportion  to  the  sum  formerly  subscribed  by  the  parties  to 
the  Confederate  cause,  and  amounted  on  an  average  to  con- 
siderably over  double  that  sum. 

These  men  so  mulcted  well  knew  the  alternative  and  paid 
the  sum  promptly  with  the  best  grace  they  could  afibrd. 

Butler,  no  doubt,  applied  the  money  towards  the  object  for 
which  he  collected  it,  after  having  deducted  his  commission  for 
trouble,  expenses,  etc. 

But  there  was  one  act  of  Butler’s,  for  which  many  expressed 
their  admiration,  and  it  was  a pretty  fair  illustration  of  setting 
the  devil  to  punish  the  devil. 

I have  often  had  to  refer  to  a class  of  men  who  were  promi- 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


437 


nent  in  bringing  on  this  war,  but  whose  conduct  afterwards 
was  cowardly  and  disgraceful  in  the  extreme — I mean  the 
agitating  political  demagogues  and  swaggering  fire-eaters,  who 
took  such  an  active  part  in  the  Secession  movement,  and 
drowned  in  their  clamorous  howl  every  breath  of  reason  or 
common-sense.  These  men,  when  the  war  broke  out,  took 
especial  care  to  keep  out  of  danger,  but  what  they  lacked  in 
courage  they  made  up  in  shameless  effrontery.  They  displayed 
their  zeal  and  patriotism  by  breathing  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter  against  Lincoln  and  his  abolition  hordes,  and  often 
cursing  their  bad  fortune  that  some  important  state  business, 
or  other  cause,  prevented  them  from  going  to  the  front,  and 
always  hoping  to  be  able  to  get  to  the  front  in  a few  days,  and 
then  it  must  be  up  to  the  very  front,  to  the  enemy’s  very  teeth. 
Somehow  they  always  managed  to  put  off  going,  until  the 
Conscript  Act  was  passed,  and  then  it  was  supposed  some  of 
them  would  be  caught.  But  just  then  New  Orleans  and  a 
large  part  of  the  Confederacy  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
and  become  enclosed  within  the  Federal  lines,  and  within  these 
lines  they  contrived  to  keep,  where  they  were  safe  from  con- 
scription. Some  of  them,  with  a view  to  obtaining  favour  or 
office,  immediately  gave  in  their  adherence  to  the  Federal 
Government  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Others  knew 
they  had  no  chance  of  favour  with  the  Federals,  and  in  the 
hope  that  the  Confederates  would  yet  succeed  made  a great 
show  of  their  zeal  in  the  Secession  cause,  and  posed  as  prisoners 
of  war  and  martyrs. 

New  Orleans  was  full  of  these  swaggering  braggarts.  They 
strutted  about  the  cafes,  acting  the  part  of  caged  lions,  herald- 
ing reports  of  great  Confederate  victories,  and  lamenting  their 
stars  that  they  were  confined  here  as  prisoners  of  war,  and 
could  not  get  out  to  join  the  Confederate  army ; and  denounc- 
ing and  recording  the  names  of  those  who  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance ; while  they  themselves  were  boasting  loudly  of 
some  gallant  feat  which  they  had  done  in  calling  the  name  of 
some  Confederate  general  at  a street-corner,  or  in  a cafe. 

But  Butler  took  little  notice  of  such  bladders  of  wind.  He 
knew  they  had  no  money,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  got  out 
of  them  and  were  not  worth  arresting.  As  they  were  men 
something  after  his  own  nature,  though  with  less  cunning,  he 
knew  exactly  what  to  do  with  them.  He  allowed  them  to 
have  their  way  for  a short  time.  They  boasted  loudly  of  their 


438 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


fidelity  to  the  Confederate  cause,  and  denounced  as  traitors 
such  as  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. As  they  were  not  arrested  they  became  bolder,  and 
bragged  of  their  defiant  expressions.  Butler  in  the  meantime 
had  them  all  spotted,  was  ready  to  pounce  upon  them,  and 
suddenly  swept  down  upon  them  and  had  them  arrested. 
Knowing  their  cowardice  he  gave  them  the  alternative  of  tak- 
ing the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Federal  Government,  and 
having  their  names  put  on  a list  and  published  in  the  news- 
papers ; or,  to  declare  themselves  enemies  to  the  United  States 
and  go  at  once  and  join  the  Confederate  army,  and  they  would 
be  immediately  sent  over  the  lines  and  delivered  over  to  the 
nearest  Confederate  provost-marshal. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  put  an  end  to  their  bounce. 
The  fear  of  being  sent  to  that  army  which  they  pretended  to 
have  been  so  wishful  of  joining  made  them  quake.  I did  not 
hear  of  any  of  them  being  sent  across  the  lines^  but  some 
chuckled  at  the  list  in  the  newspapers  of  the  names  of  so 
many  desperate  fire-eaters,  who  had  been  so  suddenly  con- 
verted ; and  it  was  remarked  that,  if  Butler  had  made  many 
thousands  of  Union  men  become  Confederates,  he  had  at  least 
made  some  professed  Confederates  become  Union  men,  tliough 
it  might  be  doubtful  if  the  Union  gained  much  by  the  transfer. 

This  act  was  regarded  as  a masterly  stroke  of  Butler’s,  in 
thus  dealing  with  such  men ; and  it  would  have  been  univer- 
sally commended  had  he  stopped  there  and  carried  it  no 
further.  But  seemingly  acting  on  the  effect  of  this,  he  conceived 
the  idea  of  following  it  up  by  a more  comprehensive  scheme  of 
the  same  kind. 

He  next  issued  an  order  commanding  all  the  inhabitants  of 
New  Orleans,  and  within  his  jurisdiction,  male  and  female, 
who  were  not  certified  subjects  of  any  foreign  power,  to  report 
on  or  before  a certain  day,  at  the  provost-marshal’s  offices,  or 
other  places  assigned  for  the  purpose,  and  then  and  there 
declare  themselves  to  be  enemies  of  the  United  States,  and  be 
registered  as  such ; or,  to  take  a certain  prescribed  oath,  and 
receive  a certificate  of  loyalty.  This  oath,  which  was  called 
the  ‘‘  ironclad  oath,”  embraced  many  heavy  obligations  and 
penalties  which  were  so  utterly  repugnant  to  the  feelings  and 
sentiments  of  the  population  that  there  seemed  to  be  a 
universal  determination  to  resist  it.  Again  it  was  considered 
what  might  be  their  fate  if  they  registered  themselves  as 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


439 


enemies  of  the  United  States ; or,  worse  still,  if  they  failed  to 
comply  with  the  terms  of  the  order  and  not  appear ; the  fear 
of  certain  imprisonment  for  an  unlimited  period,  and  total 
confiscation  of  property  caused  many  to  reflect. 

There  was  also  a certain  form  of  oath  for  subjects  of  foreign 
powers,  by  which  they  bound  themselves  to  remain  neutral  so 
long  as  their  country  remained  at  peace  with  the  United 
States. 

There  was  nothing  oppressive  or  unreasonable  in  the  alien 
oath,”  as  it  was  called.  Neither  was  it  compulsory  on  aliens 
to  take  it,  but  they  were  advised  to  do  so  for  their  better 
protection.  So  hateful  had  the  name  of  oaths  become  that  I 
believe  very  few  did  take  it,  at  least  of  British  subjects. 

But  there  were  great  demands  upon  the  consuls  for  certifi- 
cates, and  parties  were  trying  to  procure  evidence  to  prove 
that  they  were  aliens,  who  not  many  years  before  would  have 
been  ofiended  at  being  called  aliens,  and  had  avowed  them- 
selves citizens,  having  the  right  to  vote. 

As  for  the  less  fortunate  American  citizens  they  were  in  a 
sad  quandary.  As  this  was  the  last  chance  allowed  them  to 
take  the  oath  and  save  themselves,  most  of  them  at  the  last 
moment  succumbed  to  the  terms  of  the  ‘ironclad  oath,”  excusing 
and  consoling  themselves  with  the  idea  that  on  several  of  the 
points  they  maintained  a mental  reservation. 

A large  number,  however,  upheld  their  dignity  and  regis- 
tered themselves  as  enemies  of  the  United  States,  which  they 
probably  had  cause  to  repent  of  afterwards,  as  within  a few 
days  an  order  was  issued  for  them  to  be  put  across  the  lines 
into  the  Confederacy,  and  they  were  not  allowed  to  take  with 
them  any  property  of  any  kind,  watches  or  valuables  of  the 
smallest  kind,  not  even  a change  of  linen. 

The  time  allowed  them  to  prepare  was  very  short.  Their 
household  goods  were  not  confiscated,  but  the  alternative  was 
little  better.  Many  families  whose  means  were  limited  had  to 
send  their  efiects  to  auction  mart. 

The  only  auction  marts  now  allowed  to  be  open  in  the  city 
were  in  the  hands  of  such  vultures  as  followed  the  army  and 
were  privileged  by  Butler,  and  the  sales  were  a perfect  mockery. 
An  auctioneer  brought  up  a few  of  his  followers,  and  going  up 
to  and  closing  round  articles  of  the  value  of  over  100  dollars, 
would  cry  out,  “Who  bids?”  Bids  would  be  made  of  one 
dollar,  and  knocked  down  at  a dollar  and  a half,  and  pass  on 


440 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


to  the  next.  Anyone  who  would  dare  to  bid  outside  of  the 
circle  or  remonstrate  or  interfere  in  any  way  would  be  jostled, 
thrust  out,  or  arrested  and  marched  ojff  to  prison,  charged  with 
treason,  sedition,  or  inciting  to  riot,  and  the  people,  who  had 
considered  their  effects  worth  over  1000  dollars,  might,  if  they 
were  exceedingly  meek  and  humble,  after  paying  commissions 
and  expenses,  receive  a balance  of  20  or  30  dollars. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  exaggeration  in  the  description  I 
have  given  of  these  transactions,  and  there  were  hundreds  of 
such  sales.  Many  I myself  witnessed. 

Such  actions  were  loudly  denounced  by  all  respectable  people 
both  North  and  South,  but  the  perpetrators,  like  Butler  him- 
self, had  no  shame,  and  if  they  got  the  money  in  their  pockets 
they  cared  little  for  the  world’s  censure. 

General  Banks,  who  succeeded  Butler  in  the  command  at 
New  Orleans,  was  a man  of  a different  stamp  from  Butler, 
although  not  very  well  qualified  to  take  command  of  the  city 
in  the  state  in  which  Butler  had  left  it. 

The  numerous  followers  and  parasites  of  Butler  did  not  see 
so  much  to  admire  in  him  when  he  had  no  longer  the  command. 
They  did  not  leave  the  city  with  him,  but  remained  behind, 
presuming,  now  that  the  lion  was  gone,  they  would  have  the 
plunder  to  themselves. 

I may  here  remark  that  some  three  years  after  this  I hap- 
pened to  be  on  board  of  a steamer  at  Nassau,  New  Providence, 
where  I observed  some  negro  boatmen  who  were  alongside 
throwing  over  some  meat  to  an  enormous  shark  which  they 
named  ‘‘  Butler.”  On  my  asking  them  why  they  applied  such 
a name  to  an  honest  shark,  they  said  that  it  was  because  he 
kept  away  all  the  other  sharks  from  the  bay  so  as  to  have  all 
the  prey  for  himself,  and  they  found  it  much  safer  to  have 
only  one  large  shark  than  a shoal  of  smaller  ones. 

General  Banks  was  a man  of  milder  disposition,  and  did  not 
find  it  necessary  to  lay  down  any  extreme  measures  or  enact- 
ments, and  he  did  not  himself  engage,  so  far  as  I knew,  in  any 
acts  of  extortion  or  plunder.  But  he  was  altogether  too  mild 
a man  to  grapple  with  the  state  of  things  then  existing  in 
New  Orleans. 

It  was  supposed  that  Butler  had  sufficiently  punished  the 
rebels  in  New  Orleans,  and  that  Banks  should  act  more  in  the 
military  capacity  and  take  the  field  and  act  against  the  Con- 
federates at  Port  Hudson,  while  Grant  acted  against  them 


m THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


441 


at  Vicksburg ; and,  by  subduing  these  two  places,  would  open 
up  again  the  Mississippi  River,  and  once  more  cut  the  Con- 
federacy in  two  and  stop  the  Confederates  from  all  communi- 
cation with  the  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  ; the  plan  being 
to  advance  upon  the  rear  of  those  places  and  surround  them, 
and  by  cutting  off  their  supplies  starve  them  into  submission. 
This  might  have  been  easily  done  as  regarded  Port  Hudson, 
with  the  large  forces  they  had  at  command. 

But  Banks  was  not  much  of  a general ; he  had  actually  been 
chased  out  of  Virginia  by  Stonewall  Jackson ; but  he  was  a 
strong  abolitionist  and  that  was  supposed  to  have  got  him  the 
appointment. 

The  myriads  of  speculators  who  had  come  to  New  Orleans 
during  Butler’s  reign,  contented  then  to  pick  up  the  crumbs 
which  was  all  that  Butler  allowed  them,  now  revelled  under 
Banks,  who,  though  he  did  not  himself  plunder,  seemed  unable 
to  check  it  in  others ; and  Louisiana,  instead  of  being  like  the 
bay  of  Nassau,  having  only  one  large  shark,  had  now  whole 
shoals  of  them.  The  great  thing  sought  after  was  cotton, 
which  had  now  got  to  be  an  enormous  price  outside  the  Con- 
federate lines,  while  within  the  Confederate  lines  it  was  a drug 
stored  up  in  millions  of  bales.  It  was  currently  reported,  and 
I have  good  reason  to  believe  that  there  was  some  truth  in  it, 
that,  while  Banks  was  trying  to  reduce  Port  Hudson  by 
starvation,  some  of  his  own  commissary  staff,  in  league  with 
a few  of  Butler’s  well-trained  patriots,  were  delivering  at 
certain  places  for  the  use  of  the  besieged  fort,  hundreds  of  tons 
of  supplies,  and  receiving  in  return  an  equivalent  in  cotton. 

Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  were  also  receiving  supplies 
from  the  West  by  way  of  Red  River,  and  it  was  deemed  of 
great  importance  that  Port  Hudson  should  be  reduced  so  as 
to  enable  the  gunboats  to  get  up  the  Red  River  and  stop 
supplies  coming  through  that  source,  and  an  attack  upon  Port 
Hudson  by  the  fleet  was  resolved  upon. 

Port  Hudson  was  a small  town  on  the  left  or  east  side  of  the 
river.  It  was  situated  upon  the  bluffs  or  high  banks  of  the 
river,  which  here  rise  almost  perpendicularly  from  the  water 
edge  to  a height  of  about  150  feet.  From  this  place  a railway 
extended  into  the  interior  about  thirty  miles,  and  previous  to 
the  war  a good  deal  of  cotton  was  shipped  here.  The  river  in 
front  was  rather  narrower  than  the  average  breadth,  being 
only  about  three-quarters  a mile  in  width,  and  on  the  side  next 


442 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


the  town  was  deep  and  rapid,  but  on  the  west  side  it  was 
shallow,  and  when  the  water  was  low  a large  sandbank  lay 
bare.  About  two  miles  below  Port  Hudson  there  is  an  island 
called  Prophet’s  Island,  which  is  the  first  island  met  with  on 
ascending  the  Mississippi.  It  is  about  two  miles  in  length, 
and  situated  near  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  when  the  river 
was  high,  steamers  passed  on  either  side,  but  the  main  passage 
was  on  the  west. 

On  the  blufis  at  Port  Hudson,  overlooking  and  commanding 
the  river,  batteries,  mounted  with  heavy  guns,  had  recently 
been  erected,  which  debarred  the  Federal  gunboats  from 
ascending,  and  these  forts  it  was  now  sought  to  reduce. 

I happened  to  witness  this  attack  which  took  place  during 
the  night,  and  was  rather  an  imposing  sight,  being  like  a 
gigantic  but  grim  display  of  fireworks.  I may  give  a short 
description  of  it  as  seen  from  a distance. 

The  Mississippi  had  been  rising  rapidly,  and  it  was  known 
that  there  were  some  breaks  in  the  embankments  on  the  west 
side  near  Port  Hudson,  and  with  some  of  the  proprietors  I had 
been  up  there  inspecting  the  embankments  to  see  if  there  was 
any  possibility  of  preventing  an  overflow.  While  there  we 
became  aware  of  the  contemplated  attack,  and  watched  the 
movements. 

On  the  day  preceding  the  attack  a number  of  mortar 
schooners  were  towed  up  the  river  and  anchored  on  the  west 
side  of  Prophet’s  Island,  where  they  could  not  be  seen  from 
Port  Hudson.  Towards  evening  the  whole  fleet,  which  had 
been  rendezvoused  at  Baton  Rouge  steamed  up  the  river.  This 
fleet,  which  amounted  to  about  16  vessels  in  all,  consisted  of 
frigates  and  ocean-going  gunboats.  As  I wished  to  see  the 
attack,  I with  one  or  two  others  rode  over  the  overflowed  land 
to  a suitable  place,  where  we  had  a good  view  of  the  action.  It 
was  dark  by  the  time  the  fleet  reached  Prophet’s  Island,  where 
they  remained  for  several  hours  at  anchor ; what  they  were 
doing  we  could  not  see.  It  was  getting  near  midnight.  The 
night  was  dark;  everything  was  quiet;  not  a sound  was  heard, 
or  a spark  seen  about  Port  Hudson,  or  where  the  fleet  was 
concentrated,  and  we  were  beginning  to  wonder  whether  the 
attack  would  be  made  that  night,  when,  suddenly,  a rocket 
went  up  from  Port  Hudson,  and  almost  immediately  afterwards 
a great  blaze  flamed  up  all  along  the  embankment,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river.  This,  as  it  had  been  intended  to  do,  lighted 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


443 


up  the  river  in  front  of  the  forts  and  disclosed  the  advancing 
fleet.  Almost  immediately  afterwards  a heavy  fire  was  opened 
from  the  mortar  schooners,  which  had  in  the  interval  been 
towed  up  and  anchored  above  Prophet’s  Island  and  within 
range  of  the  forts,  and  a storm  of  shells  which  showed  in  the 
darkness  like  streams  of  rockets  were  showered  upon  the  forts. 

The  fleet  seemed  to  advance  in  two  lines,  keeping  two  and 
two  nearly  abreast.  The  first  was  the  frigate  Hartford^  Admiral 
Farragut’s  ship ; and  the  Albatross^  which  I think  was  a paddle 
steamer,  but  I could  not  be  certain.  Next  followed  the 
Mississippi^  a large  paddle  frigate,  and  another,  which  I think 
was  the  Monongahela,  The  rest,  the  names  of  which  I did  not 
know,  or  don’t  now  remember,  followed  in  quick  succession. 

It  was  obvious  that  Farragut  intended  to  pursue  his 
favourite  tactics  in  not  damaging  his  fleet  by  lying  in  front  of 
a fort,  but  attaining  his  object,  if  possible,  by  sailing  past  it. 
The  vessels,  seemingly  under  a full  head  of  steam,  advanced 
rapidly  up  the  river,  pouring  their  broadsides  into  the  forts  as 
they  passed.  But  the  blazing  pine  knots  on  the  top  of  the 
embankment  on  the  west  so  effectually  lighted  up  the  river 
that  the  ships  were  distinctly  seen,  and  the  strategy  of  passing 
the  forts  under  the  cover  of  darkness  was  defeated. 

The  forts  now  opened  fire  upon  the  ships  with  telling  effect. 
The  Hartford^  with  her  consort  the  Albatross^  succeeded  in 
getting  past,  but  the  next  pair  were  not  so  fortunate.  There 
was  evidently  something  wrong  with  them.  The  plunging  fire 
from  the  forts  at  such  a short  distance  and  high  elevation  had 
penetrated  their  vital  parts.  The  frigate  Mississippi  ^seemed 
doomed  to  perish  in  the  river  she  was  named  after,  for  keeping 
too  near  the  western  side  she  grounded  on  the  bank.  The 
Monongahela  was  disabled  and  drifted  helplessly  back  with 
the  current  and  fouled  the  ships  which  were  following.  Before 
she  could  be  got  out  of  the  way  some  of  the  other  ships  which  had 
tried  to  pass  up  were  also  disabled,  and  drifting  back  with  the 
strong  current  made  more  confusion.  Farragut,  who  was  now 
up  safe  past  the  forts  with  his  own  ship  and  the  Albatross,  kept 
signalling  for  the  other  ships  to  follow,  but  this  was  easier  said 
than  done.  The  forts  were  pouring  a tremendous  fire  upon  the 
foremost  ships,  thus  in  confusion  and  foul  of  each  other;  while 
the  rearmost  ships  and  the  mortar  schooners  kept  up  a heavy 
fire  upon  the  forts. 

In  the  meantime  the  Mississippi  lay  aground  ahead  of  the 


444 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


other  ships,  and  in  the  very  focus  of  the  fire  from  the  forts, 
and  could  not  get  off,  and  she  was  abandoned. 

And  here  was  again  displayed  that  spirit  of  reckless 
destruction  which  was  often  carried  to  madness,  on  both  sides, 
during  this  war.  When  they  abandoned  the  vessel  they  set 
fire  to  her.  This  seemed  to  me  to  be  at  the  time  a foolish  act, 
when  the  water  was  known  to  be  rising  rapidly.  The  flames 
lighted  up  the  river  clear  as  day,  and  endangered  greatly  the 
advance  up  the  river,  and  exposed  the  other  ships  to  the  full 
view  and  fire  from  the  forts,  which  was  now  more  deadly  than 
ever.  While  the  Mississippi  frigate  was  thus  in  full  blaze  her 
capricious  namesake,  the  Mississippi  River,  whose  sympathies 
seemed  to  have  again  gone  with  the  Confederates,  continued 
to  rise  and  floated  her  off,  and  the  huge  vessel,  which  was  of 
great  length  and  blazing  from  stem  to  stern,  swung  round  and 
drifted  broadside  on  down  upon  the  vessels  below.  This  made 
confusion  worse  confounded,  and  the  whole  fleet  had  to  get 
away  from  the  danger.  Disabled  steamers  were  quickly  taken 
in  tow  by  others.  The  mortar  schooners  cut  their  cables  and 
dropped  down  the  river,  and  all  further  attempts  to  pass  the 
forts  were  abandoned. 

It  was  now  about  two  o’clock  a.m.  ; we  had  been  watching 
the  proceedings  from  the  upper  windows  of  a sugar  factory  a 
little  below  the  place,  and  as  the  country  was  fast  being  over- 
flowed and  the  driest  part  was  the  road  close  to  the  bank,  we 
wished  to  get  down  that  way  before  the  burning  ship  drifted 
too  close  upon  us,  as  we  knew  the  explosion  of  the  magazine 
must  soon  take  place,  and,  though  we  wished  to  see  it,  we 
did  not  wish  to  be  too  near  it. 

We  mounted  our  horses  and  galloped  down  to  a safe  distance 
and  waited  there.  The  dim  lines  of  the  ships  of  the  disordered 
fleet  could  be  seen  in  the  darkness  as  they  made  their  way 
down  the  river,  keeping  out  of  the  way  of  the  burning  ship, 
which  seemed  to  follow  them  up  like  an  avenging  spirit  seeking 
to  punish  them  for  their  wanton  act  in  setting  her  on  fire. 

The  firing  had  now  ceased  and  all  was  quiet,  and  nothing  was 
to  be  seen  but  the  burning  vessel  as  it  drifted  down  the  river 
with  the  current.  Suddenly  a tremendous  explosion  shook 
the  air  and  filled  it  with  millions  of  sparks  and  burning  frag- 
ments of  the  vessel,  lighting  up  the  country  for  miles  around 
as  if  ten  thousand  great  rockets  had  been  sent  up,  falling 
hissing  into  the  river  and  on  the  land  on  both  sides.  In  a few 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


445 


seconds  all  was  still,  and  only  a denser  darkness  caused  by 
the  smoke  marked  the  place  where  the  floating  conflagration 
had  been. 

We  now  made  our  way  home ; of  course  we  could  not  tell 
exactly  from  what  we  had  seen  how  the  matter  stood.  We 
knew  that  Farragut’s  ship  had  got  past  the  forts.  Whether 
it  was  much  damaged  or  not  we  could  not  tell.  How  many 
vessels  got  with  him  we  were  uncertain  : some  thought  three 
had  passed  up,  others  thought  only  two.  We  all  knew  the 
frigate  Mississippi  and  that  it  was  she  that  had  come  to  grief, 
and  we  had  seen  other  ships  disabled  and  mixed  up  in  confusion 
and  the  main  body  of  the  fleet  getting  down  the  river,  chased, 
as  it  were,  by  a dangerous  enemy  in  the  form  of  one  of  their 
own  ships,  which  they  had  set  fire  to  rather  precipitately.  And 
I must  confess  that  we  were  all  so  disgusted  at  this  wanton 
habit  of  burning  and  destroying  property  that  we  wished  the 
burning  ship  would  speed  down  upon  them  as  a just  retribu- 
tion for  such  reckless  and  often  quite  unnecessary  destruction. 

My  business  in  this  part  of  the  country  was  now  at  an  end. 
It  was  quite  plain  that  nothing  could  be  done  to  prevent  an 
overflow  of  the  country,  while  the  river  continued  to  rise  with 
such  rapidity,  and  it  was  now  certain  that  it  would  continue 
to  do  so  and  remain  high  for  some  months.  The  only  thing 
for  the  people  to  do  was  to  remove  to  higher  places,  or  such  of 
them  as  had  floors  several  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground, 
which  most  of  the  houses  had,  to  move  all  their  effects  up  there 
and  content  themselves  to  live  there  surrounded  by  the  water, 
with  skifis  or  canoes  tied  at  their  doors  to  maintain  communi- 
cation with  the  dry  land. 

Most  of  the  people  remained  in  their  houses  surrounded  by 
the  water,  thinking  no  doubt  that  in  these  troublesome  times 
they  were  safer  there  than  anywhere  else. 

The  cattle,  like  the*  people,  were  accustomed  to  overflows, 
and  generally  found  their  way  to  the  river  embankments, 
where  the  land  was  highest.  I may  here  say  that  the  fall  of 
the  land  away  from  the  Mississippi  River  was  such  that  in 
these  overflows  the  water  close  to  the  bank  would  be  only  a few 
inches  deep,  while  at  a distance  of  a mile  back  it  would  be 
fully  two  feet  deep. 

I had  waited  up  at  this  place  a little  longer  than  I intended 
in  order  to  see  the  attack  on  Port  Hudson,  and  a break  had 
taken  place  in  the  river  embankment  lower  down,  and  I had  a 


446 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


little  difficulty  in  getting  to  Baton  Rouge,  which  I did,  how- 
ever, in  course  of  time  and  took  steamer  for  New  Orleans. 

When  I got  to  New  Orleans  I found  the  general  topic  of 
conversation  was  the  attack  on  Port  Hudson.  As  might  be 
supposed,  each  party  had  their  own  version  of  it. 

The  Federal  newspapers  represented  it  as  a victory,  and 
columns  were  headed  in  large  type : “ Successful  attack  on 
Port  Hudson  ‘‘  Farragut  at  his  old  tricks  again  f ‘‘  He  sails 
past  the  forts.’’ 

The  Confederate  party,  in  their  quiet  conversations,  triumphed 
over  it  as  a crushing  defeat  to  the  Federals,  and  represented 
the  fleet  as  being  driven  back  with  heavy  damage,  and  Farragut 
with  his  two  ships  completely  cut  off  and  hemmed  in  on  the 
river  between  the  two  strongholds  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson, 
and  could  neither  go  up  nor  down,  and  must  inevitably  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

The  fleet  had  certainly  been  defeated  and  driven  back  with 
considerable  damage,  and  Farragut  was  no  doubt  in  a critical 
position.  But  the  rats  had  got  into  the  house,  and  might  do 
much  damage  and  not  be  easily  caught. 

Farragut  was  a man  of  great  resources  and  determination. 
If  he  had  found  his  position  desperate  he  would  have  attempted 
to  run  down  past  the  forts,  for  which  he  could  have  chosen  a 
favourable  opportunity,  and  it  would  have  been  easier  to  run 
down  with  the  strong  current  of  the  river  than  to  run  up 
against  it.  If  he  had  fuel  and  stores  sufficient  he  had  about 
300  miles  of  the  Mississippi  and  several  miles  of  Red  River 
navigable  for  his  ships.  If  the  river  continued  high,  as  it  was 
now  likely  to  do  for  some  months,  there  would  be  a passage 
for  small  vessels  by  way  of  Atchafalia,  by  which  he  might 
receive  fuel  and  supplies,  although  no  doubt  there  would  be 
some  opposition  from  the  Confederates  to  be  met  on  that 
route.  But,  with  that  overcome,  or  if  he  could  hold  out  for  a 
time,  he  could  effectually  stop  all  supplies  being  sent  into 
Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  by  way  of  the  river,  and,  as  both 
these  places  were  being  now  closely  invested  on  the  land  side 
and  both  short  of  supplies,  they  must  inevitably  fall  through 
starvation. 

I did  not  remain  in  the  country  to  witness  the  result,  but 
learned  afterwards  that  the  ships  Hartford  and  Albatross  held 
out  and  maintained  possession  of  the  river  until  both  Vicks- 
burg and  Port  Hudson  succumbed  through  sheer  starvation. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


FINANCIAL  WATTERS  IN  NEW  ORLEANS— INSECURITY  OF  PROPERTY— DEPRE- 
CIATION OF  THE  CURRENCY— I TAKE  MY  LEAVE  AND  GET  TO  SEA — 
CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

It  was  now  getting  towards  the  summer  of  1863,  and  it  was 
quite  plain  that  whichever  way  the  war  would  terminate  the 
cost  was  going  to  be  alarming.  Whether  it  was  going  to 
result  in  one  or  two  nations,  it  was  certain  that  the  one  or 
both  must  be  loaded  with  a crushing  debt,  which,  to  redeem, 
would  be  almost  impossible. 

Many  of  the  old  standing  people  of  New  Orleans  and 
particularly  those  who  had  retired  from  business,  and  stood 
as  neutral,  were  considering  what  was  best  to  be  done  to 
preserve  their  substance,  and  in  what  form  it  would  be  best 
to  have  it  put  to  be  safe. 

The  result  of  the  war  was  still  uncertain.  Property  was  not 
safe.  The  city  might  be  destroyed  at  any  moment.  There 
was  no  security  against  war  risks.  No  corporation  or  company 
was  secure.  Specie  had  entirely  disappeared.  Butler  had 
by  an  edict  declared  United  States  currency  (greenbacks) 
to  be  the  only  legal  tender.  The  banks  were  all  shut  up — 
their  notes  not  in  circulation,  and  any  that  were  in  circulation 
not  being  a legal  tender  were,  of  course,  classed  below  the 
rates  of  the  United  States  currency.  The  enormous  amount 
of  the  United  States  debt  had  shaken  confidence.  Gold  and 
silver  being  no  longer  a tender  in  commerce,  became  articles  to 
be  bought  and  sold,  and  were  bulled  and  beared  by  reports  got 
up  of  victories  or  defeats.  It  was,  therefore,  hard  to  get  and 
dangerous  to  hide,  and  safe  nowhere.  Merchandise,  or  other 
valuables,  were  subject  to  seizure  or  plunder ; United  States 
bonds  or  currency  constantly  depreciating  in  value  and  might 
yet  be  repudiated. 

It  was,  therefore,  sometimes  a little  amusing  to  hear  the 
different  ideas  of  what  form,  in  which  means  or  substance, 
could  be  best  placed  to  be  secure. 

One  gentleman  told  me  that  he  had  invested  in  a large  lot 
of  Scotch  fire-bricks.  He  said  they  were  fire  proof  and  would 


448 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


not  burn,  and  too  cumbersome  to  be  seized  or  plundered, 
and  if  the  city  was  burned  they  would  be  in  demand  to  build 
it  up  again.  Another  gentleman,  on  a similar  principle, 
invested  in  a quantity  of  pig  iron;  another,  in  a large 
quantity  of  building  sand ; and  many  similar  investments 
were  made,  each  having  his  own  peculiar  idea  of  what  would 
be  safest. 

The  quotations  for  gold  now  ranged  from  200  to  250  per 
cent,  premium — foreign  exchange  still  higher  and  scarcely  to 
be  got  in  New  Orleans.  Such  a rush  had  been  made  to  turn 
greenbacks  into  specie  by  investing  in  cotton  and  shipping  to 
foreign  countries  that  cotton  had  been  run  up  to  a fabulous 
price,  and  the  shipping  of  it  or  any  goods  to  foreign  countries 
was  hedged  round  with  high  charges,  stringent  regulations,  and 
restrictions,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for  anyone  to  do  it 
without  having  some  influence  with  the  officials. 

I now  determined  to  make  an  efibrt  to  get  out  of  the  country, 
and  having  disposed  of  all  my  rights,  and  interests,  and  claims 
with  my  business  partners,  I,  with  some  others,  invested  in  a 
small  schooner,  and  having  obtained  for  her  a provisional 
register  loaded  her  for  the  West  Indies. 

It  would  be  endless  to  recount  the  numerous  examinations 
and  stoppages  to  which  we  were  subjected  before  being  allowed 
to  proceed.  Having  at  length  by  means  of  bribes  and  other 
devices  got  a clearance,  we  thought  we  had  overcome  our  diffi- 
culties, but  just  as  we  were  about  to  clear  out  of  the  harbour 
we  were  boarded  by  still  another  official.  This  was  a sort  of 
harbour  watchman,  whose  business  it  was  to  take  the  names 
of  all  vessels  which  left  the  harbour  and  report  them  at  the 
Customhouse.  This  was  a sort  of  sinecure  office,  and  had  been 
given  to  an  Americanised  Irishman,  as  a sop  to  the  Irish 
element,  which  was  then  in  great  demand  to  fill  up  the  ranks 
of  the  army.  This  official  assumed  airs  of  great  importance. 
He  had  discovered  that  the  vessel  had  a name  on  her  stern, 
but  not  the  name  of  the  hailing  port.  He  was  informed  that 
the  vessel  was  under  a provisional  register,  and  therefore  could 
not  have  a hailing  port.  But  he  stood  upon  his  dignity,  and 
probably  expecting  to  get  his  hand  crossed  by  a five-dollar  note 
he  declared  the  vessel  should  not  be  allowed  to  proceed  until 
she  had  the  name  of  a hailing  port  on  her  stern.  Knowing 
the  extent  of  his  power,  and  that  this  was  all  he  could  demand, 
a boat  was  lowered,  and  a seaman  directed  to  letter  on  the 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


449 


stern,  in  the  best  way  he  could,  the  name  of  the  nearest 
British  sea-port,  which  was  Belize,  Honduras,  where  we 
intended  going.  This  being  done,  the  official  had  to  be 
satisfied,  and  we  proceeded. 

There  were  still  the  forts  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  pass, 
and  when  we  reached  them  we  were  warned  by  a gun  to  bring 
to,  and  ordered  to  remain  at  anchor  till  further  instructions 
came  from  'New  Orleans.  We  dropped  anchor,  but  the  current 
was  so  strong  that  the  anchor  would  not  bring  the  vessel  up, 
and  she  drifted  for  some  distance  past  the  forts.  We  made 
every  apparent  efibrt  to  bring  the  vessel  up,  and  no  further 
warning  w^as  given  from  the  fort ; but  the  vessel  continued  to 
drag  her  anchor.  Whether  this  was  observed  from  the  fort  or 
not  I do  not  know,  but  night  came  on  and  darkness  closed 
around,  and  we  were  out  of  sight  of  the  forts,  and  the  wind 
being  favourable  we  took  up  the  anchor  and  made  sail,  and  by 
daylight  next  morning  we  were  out  of  sight  of  land,  glad  to 
escape  from  further  detention. 

The  reason  of  our  being  stopped  at  the  forts  was,  as  I after- 
wards learned,  in  consequence  of  orders  being  telegraphed  from 
New  Orleans  to  stop  the  vessel. 

It  seemed  that  the  seaman,  in  roughly  painting  the  name  of 
the  hailing  port  on  the  stern  of  the  vessel,  found  that  he  would 
not  have  room  for  the  whole  of  the  name,  “ Belize,  Honduras,’’ 
and  he  was  told  to  abbreviate  the  last  word,  and  put  “ Belize, 
Hoil.”  He  being  still  a little  short  of  room,  and  being  no 
great  artist,  had  finished  it  in  a rather  cramped  way,  thus  : 
“ Belizehon.”  This  the  official  mistook  for  “ Babylon,”  having 
probably  heard  of  the  latter  place,  but  not  of  the  former;  and 
he  accordingly  reported  at  the  Customhouse,  as  having  passed 
down  the  river,  the  “ Bob  Boy  of  Babylon.” 

It  might  have  been  easily  seen  that  this  was  a mistake,  but 
official  interference  was  rampant.  At  that  time  the  atmosphere 
of  New  Orleans  was  pregnant  with  rumours  of  the  most  extra- 
vagant kind  of  some  contemplated  attack  upon  the  city,  from 
an  outside  source,  through  some  Confederate  agency,  and  the 
least  unusual  movement  was  construed  into  a connection  with 
some  plot  for  some  raid  or  attack  upon  the  city.  There  being 
in  New  Orleans  no  consul  for  such  a place  as  Babylon,  and 
whether  it  was  on  account  of  this  irregularity,  or  whether 
there  was  something  ominous  in  the  name,  as  suggestive  of 
some  meditated  descent  upon  the  city,  by  some  Rob  Roy,  or, 

2 F 


450 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


Nebuchadnezzar,  I do  not  know ; but,  orders  were  immediately 
telegraphed  to  the  forts  to  stop  the  suspicious  craft ! 

The  commander  at  the  forts  was  probably  disgusted  at  the 
frequent  annoyance  he  was  put  to  in  stopping  vessels  at  the 
instance  of  the  corrupt  officials  at  the  port,  and  knowing  that 
in  most,  if  not  in  all,  cases  it  was  only  a device  to  extort  bribes 
from  the  owners  or  agents  of  vessels ; and  having  no  steamer 
at  hand  to  follow  and  board  vessels  if  they  drifted  past,  and 
he  would  not  be  justified  in  firing  into  a foreign  vessel,  if  she 
used  every  endeavour  to  bring  up,  and  the  anchor  would  not 
hold  in  the  strong  current.  He  also  knew  that  the  acts  and 
character  of  the  officials  would  not  stand  investigation,  so  he 
gave  himself  little  trouble  in  the  matter ; and  this  was  the 
way  so  little  notice  was  taken  of  us,  and  we  were  allowed  to 
slip  ofi*  to  sea. 

Having  now  got  out  to  sea,  I felt  as  if  in  a new  atmosphere, 
and  somewhat  relieved  at  getting  away  from  the  turmoil  of 
war,  and,  what  was  more  unpleasant,  the  overbearing  official 
tyranny  of  those  in  office,  and  the  disgusting  jobbery  and 
corruption  which  seemed  to  prevail  in  what  was  now  called 
the  business  circle,  which  had  taken  the  place  of  the  good  old 
substantial  and  honourable  men  that  were  to  be  found  on 
’Change  in  New  Orleans  before  the  war. 

Here  ended  my  experience  and  participation  in  the  more 
stirring  events  of  this  war. 

I several  times  after  this  during  the  war  visited  the  Con- 
federate ports  and  had  a good  opportunity  of  knowing  the 
state  of  matters ; but,  as  I confine  myself  in  this  narrative 
only  to  what  came  under  my  own  personal  observation,  I leave 
history  to  history  writers. 

When  I got  out  of  the  country  I had  time  to  reflect  upon 
and  review  the  events  of  the  last  three  years  and  the  fearful 
wreck  which  had  been  wrought  during  that  time;  and,  in 
closing  this  narrative,  I venture  to  give  a very  limited  expres- 
sion of  the  opinions  and  impressions  which  experience  forced 
upon  me  and  which  have  been  confirmed  by  many  years  of 
reflection  afterwards. 

Of  course  such  opinions  may  be  of  little  value,  and  can  take 
no  place  beside  the  more  comprehensive  views  of  men  of  higher 
attainments ; but,  as  the  impressions  which  were  forced  upon 
me  might  be  forced  upon  others,  if  passed  through  the  same 
ordeal,  I give  them  for  what  they  may  be  worth, 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


451 


It  seemed  to  me  that  the  fearful  wreck  which  had  been 
wrought  might  all  have  been  averted  by  a little  wise  and 
judicious  management,  had  the  sober  and  industrious  class  of 
the  people — the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  nation — taken  a more 
active  part  and  kept  the  control  of  public  affairs  out  of  the 
hands  of  unprincipled  politicians  and  demagogues.  Had  the 
central  government  been  more  of  a government  and  less  of  a 
party,  and  executed  its  functions  with  a firm  hand,  instead  of 
pandering  for  party  votes,  such  a wreck  could  never  have 
occurred. 

That  the  expression  I had  so  often  heard  in  the  early  part 
of  the  movement,  that  ‘‘  there  were  plenty  of  sensible  and 
respectable  men  in  the  country  to  overrule  the  ravings  of 
unprincipled  demagogues,”  was  no  doubt  true ; but  why  they 
failed  to  do  it,  and  why  a nation  of  intelligent  people  should 
allow  themselves  to  be  goaded  to  destruction  upon  a shibboleth 
arising  out  of  a question  in  which  so  few  of  them  had  any 
interest  was  a question  for  reflection,  and  seemed  to  impress 
me  with  the  idea  that  for  a government  to  be  controlled 
successfully  by  the  direct  voice  of  the  people  it  is  imperatively 
necessary  that  the  people  must  be  honest,  intelligent,  and 
possess  a high  tone  of  moral  principle  and  be  impervious  to 
flattery ; that  every  man  must  take  an  enlightened  and  inde- 
pendent interest  in  the  government  of  the  country  and  be  ever 
vigilant  and  guarded  against  the  insidious  wiles  of  self-seeking 
agitators  and  demagogues,  who  live  by  agitation  and  prey 
upon  the  credulity  of  the  masses. 

That  in  all  countries  a certain  amount  of  what  may  be  called 
the  residuum  of  society  naturally  exists.  These  may  not  be 
altogether  criminal,  but  of  an  improvident  and  idle  class, 
generally  termed  loafers  or  roughs ; and,  although  the  natural 
proportion  of  this  class  in  mankind  is  but  small,  the  number 
is  greatly  increased  and  their  pretensions  emboldened  by  the 
influence  of  agitating  demagogues ; and,  though  they  may  still 
be  but  a small  proportion  of  the  population,  they  have  in 
politics  a great  advantage  over  the  industrious  citizen.  They 
have  no  regular  business  or  labour  to  attend  to,  and  they  give 
themselves  up  to  agitation  and  politics.  Their  leaders  possess 
any  amount  of  effrontery,  and  always  put  themselves  forward 
in  any  political  movement  and  take  possession  of  the  field,  and 
unless  the  honest,  industrious  citizens  are  constantly  on  the 
alert,  this  element  will  be  certain  to  gain  the  ascendency  and 


452 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


control  nominations  and  elections ; and,  for  the  better  accom- 
plishment of  their  ends,  it  is  a common  practice  with  political 
tricksters  to  strangle  liberal  and  broader  sentiments  by  taking 
hold  of  public  questions  and  reducing  them  to  narrow  dogmas, 
with  two  extreme  sides,  to  which  public  sentiment  must  adhere 
pro  or  con^  allowing  no  admittance  for  any  side  reasoning  or 
inquiry,  and  the  honest,  industrious  citizen  must  either  follow 
and  support  their  views  and  objects  or  be  branded  as  opponents 
to  all  good  measures. 

Men  having  business  and  work  to  attend  to  often  have  little 
time  to  attend  to  political  matters,  especially  when  elections 
are  frequent,  and  they  become  indifferent  and  disgusted, 
especially  when  they  see  at  the  head  of  political  movements 
men  of  depraved  and  worthless  character. 

That  those  whose  business  it  is  to  maintain  order  and  enforce 
the  laws,  and  also  those  whose  business  it  is  to  adjudicate  and 
execute  the  laws,  when  they  obtain  their  offices  and  positions 
through  the  influence  of  such  an  agency,  too  often  swerve  from 
a strict  sense  of  duty  and  seek  more  to  please  such  as  have  a 
control  or  influence  in  elections  than  to  administer  justice  with 
a firm  and  impartial  hand. 

That  there  is  no  chain  so  heavy  or  yoke  so  oppressive  as 
that  which  men  will  unwittingly  place  upon  their  own  necks, 
or  bend  their  necks  to  receive,  while  being  beguiled  and  led 
along  by  liberty  shriekers  under  their  pretended  banner  of 
freedom. 

As  to  any  opinion  I formed  of  the  chief  actors  in  this  war 
— if  we  take  the  political  body,  presidents,  cabinets,  and  con- 
gresses— I could  say  very  little  for  them,  either  North  or 
South ; in  fact,  I knew  very  little  about  them,  and  I would 
not  like  to  become  security  for  the  honesty  of  any  of  them. 
Perhaps  the  most  honest  man  among  them  all  was  Mr.  Lincoln 
himself. 

I confess  I never  had  any  great  regard  for  Jefferson  Davis. 
I considered  him  a little  too  much  the  type  of  the  extreme 
Southern  politician,  with  a little  tendency  towards  the  auto- 
crat. A man  of  considerable  talent,  unbending  will,  and  great 
ambition ; and  I cannot  help  thinking  that  he  prolonged  the 
war  long  after  he  saw  that  the  cause  was  utterly  hopeless,  when 
he  might  have  made  terms  which  would  have  saved  tens  of 
thousands  of  lives,  and  saved  hundreds  of  thousands  from 
untold  misery.  And  it  seems  strange  to  say  that  the  first  to 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


453 


ask  for  terms  was  General  Lee,  a man  whom  it  may  be  safe  to 
assert  was  the  greatest  hero  of  this  war,  whose  undoubted 
bravery  and  high  attainments  as  a general  and  a leader  were 
unquestionable,  and  on  whose  noble  character  no  one  could 
cast  a stain,  but  who  could  not  stand  by  and  see  his  brave 
followers  die  of  starvation.  Lee  I considered  to  be  the  greatest 
general  of  the  war  and  Farragut  the  man  who  struck  the  blows 
most  fatal  to  the  South. 

While  I never  could  see  much  to  commend  or  admire  in  the 
political  personages  on  either  side,  I think  there  was  something 
to  admire  in  the  indomitable  energy  and  determination  dis- 
played by  the  combatants  on  both  sides,  from  the  generals  to 
the  private  soldiers. 

What  seemed  to  me  as  the  most  striking  feature  in  this  war 
was  the  aptitude  of  the  volunteer  system  in  raising  upon  the 
nucleus  of  the  standing  volunteer  companies  and  bringing  into 
the  field  in  an  incredible  short  time  a large  and  efiective  army, 
and  the  zeal  and  general  bravery  displayed  by  the  citizen 
soldiers. 

Whatever  may  be  said  by  European  critics  about  inefficiency, 
lack  of  training,  and  armed  mobs,  I still  think  that  there  were 
some  things  which  might  be  worthy  of  a little  attention. 
Should  it  ever  be  the  fortune  of  any  of  those  critics  to  see  an 
army  cut  into  remnants  and  dashed  into  confusion,  mixed  up 
and  scattered,  but  the  troops  still  uniting  as  if  by  mutual 
attraction  forming  a front  without  regard  to  parade  precision, 
sustaining  charge  after  charge  and  still  fighting  and  holding 
their  own,  he  might  say  that  they  were  defeated  but  they  did 
not  know  of  it.  Yet  those  troops  remained  masters  of  the 
field  ; whereas,  some  troops,  schooled  to  observe  and  maintain 
as  a sine  qua  non^  a higher  degree  of  military  order  and 
precision,  might  have . become  disconcerted  and  considered  all 
lost  and  fled  in  confusion.  I have  sometimes  thought  that 
one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  success  of  the  Confederate  troops 
was  the  alacrity  with  which  they  would  form  up  into  line,  in 
a temporary  rough  and  ready  way  after  being  driven  into 
confusion  by  some  sudden  cause  or  movement  in  a rough  or 
rugged  country  and  maintain  the  battle  in  that  position, 
while,  as  soon  as  opportunity  afibrded,  every  man  would  fall 
into  his  place  in  the  company,  the  company  to  its  place  in  the 
battalion,  and  the  battalion  to  its  place  in  the  brigade,  and 
order  regained  in  a short  time. 


454 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


That  the  troops  were  not  drilled  up  to  the  finest  points  of 
military  precision  is  certainly  true,  but  most  of  them  had  good 
practical  training,  and  I cannot  say  that  I ever  saw  them 
suffer  seriously  from  the  want  of  the  finer  points. 

With  regard  to  mismanagement  I must  admit  that  I saw 
and  experienced  plenty  of  it ; but  this  seems  to  be  a necessary 
accompaniment  of  all  armies,  and,  I suppose,  has  been  a 
prominent  feature  in  almost  every  war  on  record. 

But  this  does  not  arise  through  any  inefficiency  or  want 
of  training  of  the  officers  or  men,  but  generally  proceeds 
from  some  political  influence  and  from  misunderstandings 
among  the  higher  functionaries,  and  much  mismanagement 
often  arises  from  overmanagement  through  too  much  official- 
ism or  through  complicated  and  overstrained  regulations  in 
the  different  departments — particularly  in  the  arrangements 
for  transportation,  where  there  seems  to  be  always  great 
mismanagement. 

It  has  often  been  asserted  by  the  exponents  of  human 
rights  and  liberties  that  certain  cherished  principles  inherited, 
maintained,  and  contended  for  by  a nation  or  people,  can 
never  be  put  down  by  force  of  arms — that  the  land  may  be 
overrun  and  held  in  subjection  by  a military  force,  but  people 
imbued  with  certain  inherent  principles  will  never  be  subdued. 
They  would  fly  to  the  mountains  and  fastnesses,  and  every 
rock,  stump,  and  copse  would  have  its  rifleman,  until  they 
were  utterly  exterminated.  This  has,  no  doubt,  been  proved 
to  be  true  in  many  instances  throughout  history. 

It  might  be  said  that  in  this  war  such  doctrine  was  proved 
to  be  fallacious.  But  I think  for  such  a doctrine  to  hold  good 
it  is  necessary  that  the  principles  contended  for  must  be 
inherent,  deep  rooted,  and  universal,  and  it  may  not  always  do 
to  accept  as  genuine  sentiment  what  may  be  blurted  forth  by 
leading  demagogues  who  may  have  thrust  themselves  forward 
as  the  champions  of  the  people,  and  by  the  combination  of  a 
certain  number  hold  the  rest  of  the  people  in  terror  and 
subjection  and  only  allow  certain  sentiments  to  be  uttered. 

I do  believe  from  what  I observed  that  this  last  was  to  a 
considerable  extent  the  state  of  things  in  the  South ; and  in  a 
very  large  portion  of  the  population  no  deep-rooted  principle 
existed ; and  though  they  took  up  arms  promptly,  and  fought 
manfully,  it  was  not  so  much  to  maintain  any  inherent  principle 
as  in  a moment  of  passion  they  sought  to  separate  themselves 


IN  THE  SOUTH  DURING  THE  WAR. 


455 


from  a people  which  they  imagined  had  grossly  insulted  them, 
and  from  a Government  which  they  considered  had  treated 
them  badly,  and  had  forfeited  all  claims  to  their  respect  and 
allegiance,  and  provoked  them  into  war.  And,  with  a great 
portion  of  them,  at  least,  the  question  was  more  a quarrel  of 
the  moment,  which  had  been  brought  about  by  the  machina- 
tions of  politicians  on  both  sides,  into  which  they  had  got 
unwittingly  plunged,  and  could  not  avoid,  than  to  maintain 
any  fixed  principles,  or  redress  any  long-standing  wrongs  or 
grievances. 

The  class  I refer  to  were  the  respectable,  industrious  class, 
the  rank  and  file  who  did  the  fighting. 

As  to  the  political  body,  who  did  the  talking,  what  their 
actual  principles  or  pretended  principles  were  I do  not  exactly 
know,  and,  like  many  others,  considered  it  in  the  midst  of  the 
violent  quarrel  of  the  moment  to  be  of  little  importance ; but 
certainly  there  were  few  among  them  of  that  kind  that  would 
fly  to  the  mountains  and  rocks  and  fight  until  totally  exter- 
minated. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  can  be  no  better  proof  of  this 
than  the  way  the  war  terminated,  and  the  incredibly  short 
time  in  which  the  fabric  was  cemented  up,  the  wreck  and 
damage  repaired,  and  the  enormous  debt  wiped  ofi*,  or  brought 
within  controllable  bounds,  and  things  restored  to  their  former 
conditions,  and  the  nation  more  powerful  and  prosperous  than 
ever;  and  rancorous  hate  dispelled  from  the  minds  of  the 
great  body  of  the  people  and  confined  to  only  a very  few 
narrow-minded  partisans  on  either  side,  and  who  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  from  the  desperate  experience  so  dearly  bought,  will 
not  likely  again  be  allowed  on  that  or  any  other  question  to 
exercise  such  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  respectable  body 
of  the  people  and  lead  them  on  to  destruction. 

It  may  be  asserted,  and  with  some  truth,  in  regard  to  the 
way  in  which  order  was  so  soon  again  restored,  that  the 
institution  of  slavery,  which  led  to  the  war  no  longer  existed, 
and  there  was  no  longer  any  cause  for  dissension.  But  had 
that  institution  been  embodied  in  a deep-rooted  inherent 
principle,  universally  cherished  and  maintained,  and  it  was 
for  that  principle  alone  that  such  a large  body  fought  so  long 
and  so  vigorously,  it  would  not  have  been  so  soon  set  aside 
and  forgotten. 

There  will,  no  doubt,  always  remain  a spirit  or  sentiment  of 


456 


LIFE  IN  THE  CONFEDERATE  ARMY. 


sympathy  or  admiration  for  the  one  side  or  the  other,  but  that 
will  never  take  the  form  of  party  feeling. 

I believe  that  any  admiration  evoked  for  the  Confederate 
movement,  or  any  fame  which  may  pass  to  posterity,  will 
attach,  not  to  the  cause  or  principle  for  which  they  were  said 
to  be  fighting,  but  to  the  determination  and  bravery  displayed 
by  those  who  fought  the  battles ; and  if  we  accept  what  I 
think  has  been  rather  unjustly  paraded  before  the  world,  as 
the  only  principles  involved  in  the  cause  for  which  they  fought, 
it  might  be  a little  difficult  to  account  for  the  existence  of 
such  a brave  spirit  in  men  possessing  no  other  principles,  and 
appear  somewhat  contrary  to  moral  reasoning. 

But  I confess  that  I am  not  skilled  in  political  questions, 
high  military  science,  or  human  philosophy,  and  I do  not  put 
forth  these  closing  remarks  to  be  accepted  as  any  authority, 
but  only  as  the  simple  opinions  which  I formed  from  what  I 
saw  and  what  took  place  around  me. 

I have  tried  to  give,  in  the  best  manner  I can,  a brief 
account  of  what  I observed  and  experienced  in  this  quarrel 
and  war,  and,  though  in  a crude  and  imperfect  style,  I believe 
I could  give  no  truer  account  were  I put  into  a witness  box 
and  examined  before  a commission  or  committee ; and  if  those 
who  may  take  the  trouble  to  wade  through  my  bad  diction 
should  find  anything  to  interest  or  amuse  them,  I shall  be 
much  gratified. 


AIRD  AND  COGTIILL,  PRINTERS,  GLASGOW. 


ir  ■ 


